Aguilar condemns attack on Trump, assures security for Nevada elections

Two days after an attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar condemned the attack and emphasized his commitment to ensuring state elections remain secure.

“A politically motivated attack on anyone is an attack on our entire democracy,” Aguilar said to a crowd of local, state and nationwide leaders attending the UnidosUS conference at MGM Grand on Monday afternoon. “Nevada runs some of the most safe, secure and accessible elections in the country. It’s been my priority that we stand up against anyone trying to attack that premise.”

Aguilar joined Latino leaders — including U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra — to discuss the impact of Latinos in politics at the annual UnidosUS conference that continues through Wednesday. UnidosUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created in 1968 that has risen to become the largest Hispanic and Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States and Puerto Rico.

In his speech, Aguilar — Nevada’s first Latino Secretary of State — described the attempted assassination of Trump a “sobering reminder of the importance of maintaining public safety” and likened it to an attack on democracy.

Trump at his political rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday was cut on his ear by a piece of glass, as a result of a shot fired from an AR-style rifle by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa. The shooter was killed by Secret Service agents and identified early Sunday by the FBI, while one attendee was reported dead and two spectators as critically injured.

Trump’s campaign has since reported that the GOP nominee was “fine,” the Associated Press reported.

Responses to the assassination attempt from various political figures, including President Joe Biden, poured in over the weekend and on Monday. Aguilar, who spoke for the first time on Monday about the incident, said citizens should not have to worry about violent retaliation for holding a differing opinion from someone else.

He also stressed that Nevada has some of the “most safe, secure and accessible elections in the country,” before slamming Washoe County Commissioners for refusing to certify the results of two local recounts from last month’s primary election.

Washoe County, which represents Nevada’s second most populous county behind Clark, includes Reno and has been “the battleground county” of Nevada, said Aguilar on Monday. The Board of County Commissioners voted in a 3-2 decision to reject the results of recounts in the race for one of the commission seats as well as a local school board seat, the Associated Press reported last week.

Three Republican commissioners — Jeanne Herman, Mike Clark and Clara Andriola — voted against certifying the recount results, one of which involved the primary race that she won. The Associated Press said the commission’s two Democratic members voted against rejecting the recount results.

On Monday, Aguilar branded the election trouble in Washoe County asanother attack on democracy and said that “it is unacceptable and it must be stopped.” He described how, at the commission meeting last week, board members “cited lies about our elections, spread by conspiracy theorists.”

The Associated Press also mentioned in their reporting that local residents filled the public comments alleging irregularities in the election, demanding a hand-count of ballots and even making claims of stolen elections and a “‘cabal’” within the county.

Aguilar and State Attorney General Aaron Ford “immediately took legal action” by filing an emergency writ before the Nevada Supreme Court, demanding that Washoe County “do their job and respect the will of Nevada voters.”

“This vote has the potential to set a dangerous precedent for elections in Nevada. It is unacceptable, and it must be stopped,” Aguilar said to the crowd on Monday, drawing applause from attendees. “This kind of attack on democracy can have ripple effects across the country by giving validity to election deniers and spreading disinformation. I’m committed to fairness in every election.”

Aguilar finished his speech with a shoutout to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who Aguilar noted was his cousin, and said that having representation like the two of them as well as Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto — the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate — gives them the ability to understand how important election safety and access is.

He encouraged people to not only hit the ballot box and thank their poll workers but encourage other Hispanic and Latino citizens to vote as well. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that — in 2023 — roughly 30% of Nevada’s over 3 million residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.

“Nevada’s future is Latino,” said Aguilar at the luncheon. “Nevada is a battleground state; our state and Latino community will help decide the presidential and crucial federal races. The Latino vote is strong in Nevada.”