Blue Lives Matter rally for Las Vegas canceled over safety concerns
In this July 28, 2016, file photo, a flag with a blue and black stripes in support of law enforcement officers, flies at a protest by police and their supporters outside Somerville City Hall in Somerville, Mass. Photo by: Associated Press
Published Tuesday, June 9, 2020 | 11:27 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 9, 2020 | 2:51 p.m.
A Blue Lives Matter pro-police rally planned for Saturday on the Las Vegas Strip has been postponed over safety concerns, an organizer said today.
Conservative media personality Wayne Allyn Root said 10,000 to 20,000 people were coming to the event, including police from all over the United States, but local law enforcement asked him to postpone the event for the well-being of protesters.
“I am postponing Saturday's pro police march here in Vegas. All indications are 10,000 to 20,000 coming. Police from all over USA,” Root wrote in a tweet this morning. “But Vegas police concerned about our safety. Asked me to postpone. I will honor request. Safety of my fans is #1 concern ALWAYS.”
Officer Larry Hadfield, a Metro Police spokesman, said the department never asked Root to postpone the event nor was it aware of any specific safety threats.
“I am unable to substantiate that claim. I don’t know if he spoke to someone who may have implied it to them who was not an official representative,” Hadfield said.
"We didn’t say, ‘Don’t do it.’ You want to have a protest, you can protest about whatever you want. Same rules apply. You have to be peaceful,” Hadfield said.
Root said he will now organize a bigger event in Las Vegas in the fall with former New York City Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik so they will have more time to plan for security.
Root's announcement came after the LVMPD issued a statement Monday saying it was not affiliated with Root’s planned rally and did not give permission to use its badge on promotional materials for the event.
“The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recently learned of a planned rally for Blue Lives Matter that used images of our badge on their fliers,” Metro said in a statement. “While we uphold the First Amendment right for all groups to peaceably assemble, we did not authorize permission to the organizers to use the LVMPD badge, as the department was not part of the planning of this event.”
Promotional materials listed Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tempore Michele Fiore and Las Vegas City Council members Victoria Seaman and Stavros Anthony as co-hosts.
Metro Officer Shay Mikalonis is in the intensive care unit at University Medical Center after being shot in the face last week when a demonstration on the Strip advocating for justice after the in-custody death of a black man in Minnesota turned violent. The department said donations to the official fund for Mikalonis’ family here.
Demonstrations advocating for police reform after George Floyd’s death have occurred daily the past two weeks across the nation, including some advocating for defunding police departments.