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A GOP fundraiser Saturday at the Crowne Plaza may draw more than one crowd

Protesters plan to rally outside Crowne Plaza as Michael Flynn, other conservative figures appear for CD2 GOP candidate fundraiser.

One side is calling the other “a full slate of far-right conspiracy theorists,” while the other side counters back at a group of “leftist organizations.” Both plan to be at a Warwick hotel well known as a venue for local political events on Saturday night for a fundraiser for the Republican candidate in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District race.

The campaign fundraiser at the Crowne Plaza Warwick is hosted by Vic Mellor, who is running against Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner. The night’s headliner is Michael Flynn, the lieutenant general who served a three-week stint as national security adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House before he was fired. Flynn was a leader in the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Mellor, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, participated in the march to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On that date, a mob of Trump supporters disrupted a joint session of Congress where the results of the presidential election of 2020 were being certified as lawmakers fled. Mellor describes it as “a peaceful exercise of free speech rights, emphasizing his stance on grassroots activism and the right to protest government actions” on his campaign website.

On Monday, a letter signed by 11 local “pro-democracy and human rights organizations” sent to Crowne Plaza management took issue with the hotel’s decision to book the event.

“The Crowne Plaza is a respected Rhode Island institution with a long history of hosting sports teams, family gatherings, and community-centered events,” the letter read. “Many Rhode Islanders — including your own employees — will be shocked and dismayed that the hotel is choosing to host a rally featuring individuals whose rhetoric and actions undermine democratic values and threaten the safety and dignity of vulnerable communities.”

The 266-guestroom hotel on Warwick’s Greenwich Avenue is also home to 45,000 square feet of meeting space across 25 conference rooms. The venue has hosted all manner of political and official events, from fundraisers for House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Gov. Dan McKee to economic summits for the Providence Chamber of Commerce as well as a job fair for the state education department.

A spokesperson for IHG, the global corporation that operates the Crowne Plaza brand, said via email that the Warwick hotel is independently owned and operated, and that inquiries should be directed to them. Multiple requests for comment from the hotel did not receive answers as of Thursday night.

Lil’ Rhody Visibility Brigade, one of the groups that signed the letter to the Crowne Plaza, is organizing a protest outside the hotel starting at 5 p.m. ahead of the fundraiser, per information posted on the organizing platform Mobilize. The plan is for demonstrators to gather on the sidewalks in front of and near 801 Greenwich Avenue.

Kristen Lancaster, an organizer with the Lil’ Rhody Visibility Brigade and spokesperson for the protest, said she was unconcerned about lingering snow on the sidewalk.

“We have been watching and monitoring,” she said. “It’s going to be fun.”

“I will have flashlights and headlamps,” Lancaster added. “We’ll be just setting up camp along the sidewalks with our signs and to let people know what circus has come to town.”

A ‘Rhode Island First’ rally

Mellor’s fundraiser led Magaziner’s reelection campaign to seize the opportunity and send out an email with its own plea for donations, labeling the speaking program for the Saturday night extravaganza as “a full slate of far-right conspiracy theorists.”

“This race is becoming a clear choice between two very different paths: One is tied directly to Trump and the politics of division, extremism, and conspiracy,” the email stated. “The other is focused on expanding opportunity, protecting democracy, and actually delivering for Rhode Island families.”

Magaziner’s campaign noted it was setting a goal of $6,000 in donations by the event’s start time Saturday “to show that extremist, Trump-style politics have no place here in Rhode Island.”

“Can you rush a donation today?” the email asked its readers.

Mellor’s campaign is billing the event as a charity outing, with his website stating that “Gross Receipts will be donated to Rhode Island Charities.” Clicking on the link to buy tickets on Mellor’s website includes standard disclaimers about the maximum amount an individual may contribute to a candidate per election.

The cheapest tickets are $10 for general admission, while higher-priced “VIP” options range from $100 to $500, with the latter promising “autographed swag” and a meet-and-greet with the speakers.

The event is branded as part of “Rhode Island First Rallies” and is scheduled to run from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Its roster of speakers includes former Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light and osteopathic physician and vaccine skeptic Sherri Tenpenny, as well as local conservative activists Ramona Bessinger and Bob Chiaradio. Musician Struggle Jennings — whose grandmother’s second husband was country music legend Waylon Jennings — will perform. Joe Flynn, Michael’s brother, will serve as emcee.

The Mellor and Magaziner campaigns did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Mellor, however, did take to X on Wednesday afternoon to publicly castigate the “Ten leftist organizations [who] just sent a formal letter demanding our venue cancel our rally this Saturday,” characterizing them as those who “have completely lost their way.”

“This is Rhode Island,” Mellor wrote. “The first colony to declare independence. We didn’t ask permission in 1776 and we’re not asking now. Let them protest outside. We’ll be inside building something they can’t stop.”

Mellor wrote that “every dollar” raised from ticket sales will go toward “local Rhode Island families.”

His campaign did not respond to a request for information about how this money would be disbursed, or what charities would benefit.

“They tried to cancel this event,” Mellor wrote Thursday in a follow-up tweet. “Instead let’s sell it out. They can’t stop us…and that’s why they are scared…”

From Woonsocket to Sarasota and back again

A Woonsocket native, Mellor “has lived in Florida for the last 30 years….[and] will be eligible to vote in Rhode Island on Nov. 8 [2025], after the minimum 30-day residency,” according to a Providence Journal report from October 2025 when Mellor announced his congressional bid.

Mellor was active in Florida’s conservative circles, and his website notes he opened The Hollow in Sarasota as “an ‘anti-elitist space’ that fosters community discussions on politics and rights, free from mainstream narratives on complex issues.” A 2023 Washington Post article on the locale dubbed it “the MAGAmerican dream.” A 2025 piece in KFF Health News described “a 10-acre complex that hosts weddings and right-wing assemblies, with playgrounds, a butterfly garden, a zip line over a pond visited by alligators, and an attached, separately owned gun range.”

Mellor’s website lists his priorities as protecting the Second Amendment, “medical freedom” from vaccine mandates, and parental rights in schooling decisions, as well as decreasing barriers to home ownership, and opposition to “policies that favor big developers, global interests, and corporate speculators who scoop up homes simply to drive up prices.”

Magaziner, a Democrat first elected in 2022, denounced Mellor as his “new far-right opponent” back in October when reports of the campaign first emerged.

“No one who attacked the Capitol on January 6th should represent Rhode Island in Congress, and especially not someone who has lived outside our state for 30 years,” Magaziner wrote in an Oct. 27 statement.

The congressman added then that the race is one with high stakes, but that he remained focused on “working to make life more affordable for Rhode Islanders by fighting for health care funding and opposing tariffs that are raising the costs of groceries.”

Federal campaign filings show that Magaziner’s election account had over $1.3 million cash in hand at the end of 2025. He had raised $788,539 over the course of the year, and spent $312,813 on campaign expenses.

Federal campaign filings show Mellor had $47,912 left in his account at the end of 2025 after spending $54,277 in the last quarter. He covered most of his campaign expenses with his own funds, receiving only $2,050 from individual donors. Mellor contributed $100,139 to the Friends of Victor Mellor account.

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