Anything Goes in Las Vegas, Except Free Speech
First, we want to thank everyone who participated in No Kings, especially our amazing volunteers and partners. While No Kings Las Vegas was a peaceful and unifying moment for the city, Las Vegas has a free speech problem.
Free Speech Isn’t Free in Las Vegas
We’ve just spent the last six months exhausting every angle to have a better space for rallies. Requesting space for a rally is much different than any other type of request.
We had about seven weeks to plan from the date of the announcement of No Kings 3. We had already been working with county commissioners and others in a space like a park or open amphitheater. We also submitted permit requests for multiple parade routes downtown. We were denied at every turn.
Parks require permits, or you have to remain on sidewalks. The two largest parks are often booked a year in advance. We had an event at Sunset Park a few months ago, and cops stopped people from parking there.
We’ve spoken at county commissioner meetings, worked with the ACLU, and done interviews about this with the media. There are only two parks big enough (Sunset and Desert Breeze), and about 12 days before the event, Desert Breeze suddenly became available. That was not enough time.
Now that we have made some ground, we are already focusing on a park or the government amphitheater. Events at these types of venues still come with considerable costs.
Since there are no areas in the city designated for free speech, this creates lots of costs and hardships. It’s not like shutting down roads for a 10K or parade. That’s what we have to change. We’ve had conversations with the mayor and almost every county commissioner. The city is impeding on the First Amendment rights of its citizens. This must change!
If you are upset about this, we recommend contacting the city, Metro, the mayor, and county commissioners. We’ve been asking the community to do this for some time as part of weekly actions.
This isn’t a partisan issue; it’s a constitutional one.
Who to Contact
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley: 702-229-6241 or sberkley@lasvegasnevada.gov
Las Vegas Metro Public Submit a Complaint – This form requires an officer’s name.
Use this:
- Complaint type: Other.
- Name of Employees: The bosses of every Metro officer at the No Kings Protest by the Courthouse
Police Should Protect, Not Intimidate
We want everyone to feel safe at our events. Law enforcement is tasked with doing so, but it was excessive and intimidating to many. We’ve never had violence at our events, and our volunteers are trained to handle these situations and did so very well. The number of police directly in front of everyone made things more tense than they had to be.
Some have asked why bother to even do all this and just get in the street. We hear this and respect the position, but we know this would turn bad, and people would get hurt. The headlines would then be about riots and violence. As part of Indivisible, we are committed to nonviolent protest.
The Street Closure Debacle
The original plan was for both lanes to be available on the side of LVB. Less than 48 hours before the event, the city and Metro changed the plan to only be one lane. We then had to work out how to keep people within that lane. It was a setup for failure, and they knew it.
There was also an initial waiving of insurance for the event, but the city changed the agreement, requiring it at a cost of $16,100 in addition to paying for officers, an ambulance, and the barricades.
The Trees!
Another point of note is that the city cut down all the trees in the pavilion area two days before the event, removing any shade on that side. These trees were healthy, and it is unclear why they were removed.
Crowd Size Misinformation
Metro gave an estimate to the media, and no media checked in with us to verify. Since we’ve been doing large events for some time, we’ve known not to trust those numbers and to rely on our own counting.
It appears their count was just the side of Las Vegas Boulevard where the pavilion, which easily had 1500 people. Here’s what they did not account for—the other side of LVB, originally designated for counter-protestors. Our attendees quickly swallowed that group of about 20 people. They also did not account for the side streets.
The aerial photos released were from before the event started.
How we came up with our count:
- Square footage of all areas covered, with approximately how many people would be in that row based on crowd density
- RSVP data
- Welcome table data
We estimate the number to be around 6,000. Whether intentional or not, we disagree with their calculations and were provided no information on their calculations.
This is still too small for a city the size of Las Vegas. We realize that organizing here has challenges. Many people work untraditional schedules. We had the event later to ensure those working during the day on Saturday could come. Las Vegas also has many residents who live here part-time, so they aren’t always around.
Our city is far from red. It’s strong blue and so very diverse! What’s our biggest hurdle? Apathy, cynicism, and thinking that collective action doesn’t work. It absolutely does and has been part of every major societal shift in the history of humans!
We promoted the event for weeks in every digital channel and physical locations. We do not have an advertising budget, and advertising as a political organization, which is what we’re categorized as, has limitations and rules.
We’re also working on making contact with entertainers living here or from here to see if they want to partner with us for the next big event. This won’t be easy, and we don’t necessarily have any connections, but we’re going to take a shot anyway!
Local Media Did Not Ask Us to Verify Numbers
The local media did not reach out to any of the press contacts that they were provided to check the math. They have done so in the past. We’ve done many interviews with local reporters and journalists and have always found them to be professional and supportive.
However, local media across the country are consolidating at the hands of right-wing owners. It isn’t a conspiracy to think that these local media stations want a certain narrative. The counter group (they don’t deserve to be named) that was there in small numbers is aligned with the governor, who has accused protesters of being paid. He was at their recent opening in Las Vegas, which has upset the community.
What’s Next
Protest is but one tool in the toolbox to fight authoritarianism. We have weekly protests and actions to take. We have two membership meetings a month and initiatives around voting, progressive policy, building community, mutual aid, civic education, boycotts, and much more.
We must keep this momentum moving. We added at least 700 new people to our subscriber list from No Kings, so that means new folks are engaged!
We also have a platform of demands and always have in our weekly actions, including:
- No funding for war in Iran
- No funding for DHS without major reform
- Objections to the “SAVE” Act
- Protecting free speech in Las Vegas and bringing national attention to it
- Engaging local and state elected leaders to create laws to protect residents from ICE and prosecute Federal agents or agencies
- Championing universal healthcare and bringing awareness to how the Republican agenda is costing people their healthcare, and will lead to closures of hospitals
- Protecting our immigrant neighbors
- Building community with outreach to all types of partners locally
- Registering people to vote, explaining why they should vote in primaries, and civic education in general
- Holding all elected officials accountable
Next Up
4/1: Virtual Meeting with special guest State Treasurer Zach Conine (6 – 8 pm)
4/4: Stand Up Saturday (10 am – noon)