Updated to reflect that Valizadeh is planning a press conference.

Daryush “Roosh V” Valizadeh planned “International Tribal Meetup Day” this Saturday to “allow masculine men to regularly bond and converse with each other,” according to a blog post he wrote. Of the 165 planned Return of Kings gatherings, rumor had it he would be attending D.C.’s meetup in Dupont Circle. But now, the Silver Spring-based online personality—who advocated for the legality of rape in what he now calls a satirical post—says that he’s being advised to leave the D.C. area altogether.

But it doesn’t seem like he’s listening to the advice. He said on Twitter this afternoon that he will host a press conference on Saturday evening at a Washington D.C. hotel.

When the Daily Mail found Roosh yesterday, he was “dressed in a stained T-shirt and shorts and living in the basement of his mother’s home” in a cul-de-sac in Silver Spring. He apparently called police over concerns about his safety, saying he has received death threats from all over the world.

Indeed, an online group called Anonymous for Justice doxxed him, distributing his phone number, Silver Spring address, and date of birth.

This came after Roosh had called for his followers to collect and publish personal information about female journalists and protesters who covered the meetups, according to Newsweek. Citing safety concerns, he said that he cancelled the meetups planned for Saturday.

But protesters who have planned responses to the D.C. Return of Kings gathering are skeptical of the cancellation.

“We have people on the inside,” says Matt Kirkland, one of the local protest organizers. “We know for a fact that they’re still trying to have a D.C. meetup.”

Whether or not Return of Kings folks show up, the protest is still on. “It’s a win either way,” says Faith Ferber, a junior at American University and the co-president of Students Against Sexual Violence. “Either we scared them into not showing up, or they can see that we’re not okay with their message.”

A separate event—Women Drinking Coffee: Sitting In for Safe Spaces—organized by Collective Action for Safe Spaces will also still take place as planned at the same Starbucks.

After hearing about the Return of Kings meetup, “we wanted to direct attention away from anything else happening in this space at this time and toward issues of women’s safety,” said Jessica Raven, CASS’s interim executive director. “We have communicated with the management at the Dupont Circle Starbucks about helping us create a welcoming and safe environment for women, LGBTQ, and gender nonconforming people. We invite you to stand—or sit—with us in solidarity for safe spaces.”

Filed Under: counter protest, feminism, meetup, Return of Kings, Roosh V.,