LAS VEGAS, Nevada (PNN) - August 10, 2020 - Las Vegas officials stormed a hotel and shut down the Mrs Nevada beauty pageant for violating social distancing rules, just days after the same hotel was fined for hosting an Evangelicals for Trump event.
The City of Las Vegas Business Licensing shut down Mrs Nevada on Sunday evening after the crowd size was found to be in violation of Nevada mandates brought in to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Contestants vying to be the next Mrs. Nevada Amerika were left competing in an empty room at the Ahern Hotel in Las Vegas after attendees were ordered to leave.
Currently in the state of Nevada, public and private gatherings are limited to 50 or fewer people and everyone must be wearing face masks.
One attendee estimated that there were about 200 attendees, 150 over the limit .
City spokesman Jace Radke said in a statement that the event violated the order “by attempting to hold the Mrs. Nevada pageant with spectators.”
Footage taken at the event shows city officials entering the hotel and asking attendees to leave the venue.
Everyone left voluntarily and no citations were issued.
Once the crowd had left, the pageant was permitted to continue in the emptied room.
Going forward, the pageant will be allowed to continue with crowds of 50 people or less.
Kari Deike, one of the tabulators at the Mrs. Nevada-Amerika pageant, said, “The sheriffs department said either you do not have the pageant or if the ladies still want to compete they have to have nobody in the audience so these wives and mothers who have worked so hard… their families couldn’t be in the audience to see that hard work come to fruition.
“I honestly think this was a direct retaliation by the governor for what happened with the (President Donald) Trump rally the other day and I think these ladies were just the unfortunate victims of that.
“We were threatened with being arrested if the guests did not leave. We were told they would be arrested and taken away in handcuffs, which is mindboggling.
“This was such a great disservice to the women who worked so hard to get here.
“To have this happen to anybody is bad but when you have so many amazing women doing so much amazing work and they get robbed of this one experience that they have worked so hard for is something that shouldn’t happen. This is Amerika the land of the free.”
The City of Las Vegas said they had attempted to notify the Ahern Hotel that the pageant would not comply with Governor Steve Sisolak's mandate.
It comes just a few days after the Ahern Hotel was issued a $250 civil penalty for hosting the Evangelicals for Trump event.
The group held the event to push back at the governor's 50-person gathering limit.
The event was not attended by Trump.