Car parade marches down Las Vegas Strip to support Trump

American flags and honking horns made their way down Las Vegas Boulevard Friday afternoon in a unity parade in support of the president’s visit this weekend and against Gov. Steve Sisolak.

About 50 cars, truck and motorcycles met at Fry’s Electronics to speak to Republican candidates and express their grievances against the governor in joining parades sponsored by Fight For Nevada, Nevada First and Make Nevada Red.

Make Nevada Red said the protest parade was designed to address what it calls the “injustice” being perpetuated by Gov. Steve Sisolak’s mandates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Jobs have been lost, businesses closed, schools closed, churches closed. Our entire way of life has been disrupted all for power and division,” the group said in a statement about the parade.

Jerry Cohen, a stage tech on the Strip whose last day of work was March 7, was clear about his views.

“We don’t want Sisolak running our town,” the 57-year-old Las Vegas resident said at the protest. “I want to get my job back … We all want to go back to work.”

James Mitchell, 46, of west Las Vegas said that as an organizer for Nevada First, he thought a unity march would be the proper way to honor 9/11.

“We’re here because the attack on 9/11 was the last time we were all together, now people are too polarized,” he said.

Mitchell, an IT consultant in town, said Nevadans didn’t see enough of Sisolak at the height of the pandemic and that the state’s new policies for reopening aren’t effective.

“Even when Gavin Newsom and Andrew Cuomo were doing daily briefings, Sisolak was hiding,” he said. “We need to reopen Nevada responsibly to protect the people that are high risk, but he betrayed the unions.”

Johnny Waudby, 49, of central Las Vegas, said that as a member of Fight for Nevada he’s a nonpartisan voter but he’s sure about one thing — Sisolak has got to go. “He destroyed our state,” he said.

Among those marching on the Strip was Christy Kettler, 43, of central Las Vegas. She held her American flag high and proudly displayed her “Women for Trump” shirt.

Kettler said she’s been to about 20 protests this summer between Trump rallies and No Mask Nevada gatherings.

“I show up for what I believe in,” she said. “Every time we attend, I see it makes an impact.”

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.