Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Feds charge woman accused of chucking shoe at Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Speaks at 2014 Institute of Scrap Recycling

Steve Marcus

A woman, center, is led away by a security team after an object was thrown at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she spoke to members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries during their annual convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Thursday, April 10, 2014.

Updated Monday, April 14, 2014 | 4:45 p.m.

Alison Michelle Ernst

Alison Michelle Ernst

Hillary Clinton Speaks at 2014 Institute of Scrap Recycling

A woman, center, is led away by a security team after an object was thrown at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she spoke to members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries during their annual convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Thursday, April 10, 2014. Launch slideshow »

Federal charges have been lodged against an Arizona woman accused of throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton during a convention speech in Las Vegas last week.

Alison Michelle Ernst, 36, was charged Sunday with counts of trespassing on restricted property and committing violence against a person on restricted property, according to federal court records.

Clinton was a few minutes into her keynote address at the annual convention of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries at Mandalay Bay on Thursday when Ernst approached the stage and threw a Puma soccer cleat at the former secretary of state, Secret Service Special Agent Brian Spellacy told the Sun. Clinton ducked the shoe and was unharmed — she quickly got back on track and finished her speech, cracking jokes about the chucked object.

According to the federal complaint, Special Agent Edward Autelli said Ernst “somehow got past” a group of people checking for tickets at the Mandalay Bay event. Ernst reportedly then hurled the shoe along with several pieces of paper, the contents of which are unknown.

A spokesman for the recycling institute told the Sun that Ernst did not have credentials for the event, attended by more than 1,000 people.

According to a Metro Police incident report released last week, Ernst was “in an agitated state but aware of what she had just done.” Metro Police arrested Ernst Thursday on a count of disorderly conduct, and she has since been let go on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to appear June 24 in Las Vegas Justice Court for arraignment on the charge.

It’s too soon to say whether state prosecutors will forgo the local misdemeanor charge now that Ernst faces more serious federal charges, said Tess Driver, a spokeswoman for Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.

Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, is protected by the Secret Service. She is returning to Mandalay Bay Sept. 4 for the National Clean Energy Summit.

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