U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a rally during a campaign stop at the Boulder City Municipal Airport Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020.
Published Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 | 12:03 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 | 9:13 p.m.
RENO — The lease holder at a Reno airport hangar where Vice President Mike Pence plans a rally has signed an agreement that requires the Republican National Committee to adhere to all Nevada COVID-19 restrictions, including a 250-person attendance cap and mandatory masks.
The RNC also must provide proof of at least $1 million in liability insurance involving the Thursday event in addition to the lease holder’s $5 million policy to cover any damages, fines or legal actions, according to a copy of the special use permit agreement that the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority provided The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The lease holder, longtime GOP donor Perry Di Loreto, signed the agreement Monday. That's the same day Nevada fined a nearby rural county and airport more than $5,500 for allowing a campaign event for President Donald Trump that drew thousands of mostly unmasked people in September.
The 50-person cap in place at that time has since been raised to 250.
Di Loreto must submit a security plan to the airport authority and the Transportation Safety Administration that ensures attendance will be limited to 250. It also must explain plans to enforce requirements that all attendees stay at least 6 feet apart and wear face coverings at all times, the permit states.
“We will hold any party, Democrat or Republican, to the same standard. It’s about safety, security and the terms of the lease,” Reno-Tahoe International Airport spokesman Brian Kulpin told AP.
Trump held a rally Wednesday at the airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, across the Colorado River from the southern Nevada resort town of Laughlin, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Las Vegas. By holding the event in Arizona, Trump avoided Nevada restrictions on large gatherings.
Di Loreto, owner of a Reno home building company, didn’t immediately respond to a telephone call or email requesting comment Wednesday, He has contributed more than $60,000 to Republican candidates over the past 20 years, including $4,300 to northern Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei's current re-election bid, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
He's also contributed to past GOP presidential campaigns or exploratory committees for Paul Laxalt, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
The Trump campaign initially wanted to hold mid-September rallies at airports in Las Vegas and Reno. The Reno-area visit was changed to Minden, about a 45-minute drive away, after Reno-Tahoe International Airport told the owner of the hangar planning to host the event that it would violate the 50-person crowd limit in place then.
Douglas County was fined $2,950 and Minden Airport manager ABS Aviation was fined $2,603 for hosting the outdoor event for Trump without submitting a safety plan to the Nevada Division of Industrial Relations, the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday.
Trump attracted thousands of people for an indoor rally Sept. 13 at an industrial building in suburban Las Vegas. That event drew a $3,000 fine from the city of Henderson against the owner of the equipment rental firm facility that hosted it.
