Overview
- Deters announced the cancellation on Monday after he said only six of the roughly 100 targeted $1,000 VIP tickets had sold.
- He told supporters the event could not go forward because the VIP-sales financing model created an acute funding gap that organizers could not cover.
- This year’s lineup — which listed performers and speakers such as Kid Rock, Dog the Bounty Hunter, U.S. Rep. James Comer, Joe Concha and Ed Gallrein — will not take the stage on Sept. 26.
- Deters publicly criticized the wealthy donors he had counted on, declared he will never run the festival again, and said he will keep building his media platform using self-reported online audience numbers.
- Freedom Fest has been held at Deters’ Morning View farm near Cincinnati and has previously drawn thousands and national conservative figures, so the cancellation will hit attendees, vendors and the local event economy and highlights risks of relying on a small circle of high‑ticket buyers to fund political gatherings.