A Center of the American Experiment event set at the Mankato YMCA would have included exhibitors from nine religious private schools, the Mankato and Nicollet County public schools and representatives providing resources for homeschooling. (David Joles/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The YMCA in Mankato announced this week it would not host an event sponsored by a conservative think tank, after complaints about the group’s political affiliation.

The event, a school choice expo that would have included speakers on private education and home schooling, was organized by the Minnetonka-based Center of the American Experiment.

The Y initially agreed to host the event but then learned more about the “political affiliations and broader mission” of the think tank, Andrew Burk, executive director of the Mankato Family YMCA, said in a Facebook post on Monday.

“We have decided that the YMCA will no longer serve as the venue for this event,” Burk wrote. “The Greater Mankato Area is very diverse, and it is our job to provide a safe place to come together.”

The think tank, CAE, has been criticized in the past for divisive comments by staff members, such as remarks made by a former vice president in 2019 widely criticized as Islamophobic. The comments led to the center suspending the staff member and condemning her remarks.

But the group pushed back on Wednesday.

The YMCA’s decision will have a “chilling effect” on speech, argued Bill Walsh, CAE’s marketing director.

“We have a center-right, free-market philosophy, absolutely,” Walsh said. “Because of that, we can’t get space at the YMCA?”

The think tank in 2022 said it was a victim of “anti-free speech bullies” after the Rochester Golf & Country Club shut down an event there, leading to a lawsuit for breach of contract.

Unlike the event in Rochester, no money exchanged hands between the YMCA and the think tank, Walsh said. The think tank was planning to make a donation to the YMCA, he said.

The event was set for April 24 and advertised as a “child-friendly YMCA location,” according to the think tank’s website.

Exhibitors listed include nine religious private schools, the Mankato and Nicollet County public schools and representatives providing resources for homeschooling.

The think tank began discussing an event at the YMCA in mid-December, and by early January staff thought they had an agreement, Walsh said.

On Monday, the think tank received an email from the YMCA saying it decided against hosting the expo, on the same day that almost 2,000 mailers went out publicizing the event.

Walsh said the think tank plans to find a new venue for the expo.