Trump supporters rally peacefully outside US courthouse in Las Vegas
Several hundred supporters of President Donald Trump protested peacefully Wednesday in front of the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse in downtown Las Vegas.
The protesters waved American flags and banners supporting the president’s contention that he was robbed of re-election by what he has described without evidence as voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Unlike the protest in Washington, D.C., where protesters stormed the Capitol and disrupted a session aimed at certifying the Electoral College results, there were no reports of violence in the Las Vegas event.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Chance Hardin said the event followed a noisy drive up and down the Las Vegas Strip by Trump supporters Wednesday morning. A small group of protesters began to gather in front of the courthouse after 10 a.m.
“It started off small,” Hardin said, estimating that the crowd eventually grew to about 200 to 250 people.
Hardin said the gathering didn’t last long and “it was peaceful.”
“People were just walking by and giving each other high fives, and the worst thing that happened was people driving by flipping off (the protesters),” Hardin said.
Later, about 40 protesters carrying “Don’t Tread On Me” flags and “Trump 2020” banners chanted “stop the steal” outside Clark County election headquarters in North Las Vegas.
A caravan of cars with American flags drove past at one point Monday evening, honking enthusiastically.
At other times, protesters were seen sparring with members of the media and passers-by, including a woman blaring Mac Miller’s “Donald Trump” from her parked car and a man wrapped in flags who wanted to argue with her how “the left is too confrontational.”
No violence was reported.
Hardin said a Metropolitan police response to reports of a suspicious device in front of the federal justice tower building, 501 Las Vegas Blvd. South, just before 2 a.m. was not believed to be related to the protests. In that instance police closed off multiple streets, including Las Vegas Boulevard, until investigators discerned that the item in question was not a threat.
A few hundred Trump supporters also gathered early Wednesday in Carson City outside the Nevada legislative building in a boisterous but orderly rally. Protesters lined both sides of Carson Street to demonstrate with shouts and signs, buoyed by passing cars whose drivers honked in support. They heeded instructions from law enforcement to stay out of the roadway and remain on the sidewalk.
The legislative building is closed to the public because of COVID-19. The legislative session starts Feb. 1.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
Review-Journal staff writers Bill Dentzer and Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.
