Mystery shrouds the Latino Town Hall that featured mayoral candidate David Oh

There are more clouds than clarity surrounding the Latino Town Hall held Wednesday for Philadelphia’s mayoral race.

Republican nominee David Oh and other participants all agree someone organized the event. They can’t say who did that.

Oh and the participants also insist Cherelle Parker, the Democratic nominee, was invited. Who invited her? No one can say.

The event was held on the sidewalk in front of a building on American Street in North Philadelphia because someone refused to open the building after threats were lobbed about the event, Oh said.

Who perpetrated the lockout? Who made the threats?

Oh said he didn’t know.

Parker’s campaign on Monday decried “fake” fliers on social media that suggested she would participate. Her campaign said it “received no formal invitation” to the event and learned about the fliers only when Phillip Fisher, the Republican leader in the 42nd Ward, sent them a copy.

Parker spokesman Aren Platt said campaign staffers made phone calls “to figure out what was happening” but didn’t lean on anyone to cancel the event or lock out Oh.

The event opened with an eruption from William Cartagena, a Democratic Committee member from the 56th Ward, shouting that he had been identified as an organizer but played no part. Cartagena, who said Parker is a friend, denounced the event as a “hoax” on the Latino community.

USALA Media, a Latino outlet listed as a host of the event, has offices in the building where it was scheduled to be held.

Fred Ramirez, a cofounder of USALA Media who gave Parker’s campaign $1,250 last year, told Clout on Thursday that his outlet had nothing to do with the event. He blamed Fisher, who works part time as a technician at USALA Media, for listing the outlet on the flier.

Ramirez also said the building owner locked out the event after learning USLA Media’s name had been falsely attached to it.

Parker sees a clear path to victory in a city where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans 7-1, so she has been stonewalling Oh as he seeks joint appearances and an agreement about debates.

Oh spent about 90 minutes talking to the 30 people who showed up for the event, sitting on plastic folding chairs on the sidewalk as traffic whizzed by. He appeared bemused by the brouhaha.

“It’s kind of heavy-handed for a town hall, don’t you think?” he asked while chuckling about the lockout.

A version of this article was included in this week’s Clout, a weekly roundup providing often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.