Freedom Fest 2026 Canceled Due to Low VIP Ticket Sales

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The annual Patriots Day Freedom Fest, an event that boasted Kid Rock on its lineup, has been cancelled after just a handful of VIP tickets sold.

​The event, organized by MAGA influencer Eric Deters, was slated to take place on September 26, with reality star Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman also set to appear as a speaker.

​However, Deters confirmed in a video on Monday that the Kentucky event would be cancelled after his wealthy connections failed to buy enough $1,000 VIP tickets. Deters had been planning to make the event free for regular guests and hoped to sell around VIP tickets to 100 wealthy people.

According to Deters, only 6 people had bought VIP tickets.

​“Rank-and-file Americans are the backbone of this country - both political parties,” he said. “I want to tell you something: rich people, as a whole, suck.”

​Deters went on to make a slight caveat for himself, though.

​“Now I’m a rich person. I live in one hell of a house. I don’t suck, because I know that money isn’t what freakin’ matters the most,” he claimed. “It’s the fight, it’s the cause, it’s helping people.

​“That ain’t the way rich people think. Rich people only want to make more money.”

​Previously, the event at Deters’ Morning View farm - which is located around 25 miles from Cincinnati - had been a big draw for MAGA fans. Podcaster Candace Owens has spoken at the festival, as have President Trump’s own sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

​This year, Kid Rock - whose real name is Robert James Ritchie - was set to appear, having been a vocal supporter of Trump in his second term. Duane Chapman, the titular star of Dog the Bounty Hunter and another Trump supporter, was also scheduled to speak.

​Despite the previous popularity of the event, Deters says he has been left feeling “really p***ed off” by the failure of his wealthy contacts to purchase VIP tickets.

​“I do countless favors for these people,” he said. “These people - some of them - I got ignored!”

“Then there’s a group of people that made an excuse, like, ‘Oh, I was traveling.’ Like their phone doesn’t work while traveling.”

​Addressing the likelihood that he would help one of those wealthy contacts in future, Deters was blunt.

​“None of these people will ever, ever, ever get a favor from me again. Ever,” he blasted.

​Deters used similar rhetoric when revealing the future of the Freedom Fest.

​“I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again. Ever,” he declared.

​The cancellation of the event has attracted much attention online, both from the press and from social media. Deters posted a second video on Monday responding to the online flurry, defending the event.

​“There’s even national media picking up this story as if it was a failed event for lack of support. No,” he said, adding: “The issue was simply paying for the damn event because I make it free.”