Henderson business fined $3,000 for COVID-19 violations at Trump rally | Coronavirus

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The City of Henderson fined a local business after hosting a massive rally for Pres. Donald Trump over the weekend.

The City of Henderson fined Xtreme Manufacturing $3,000 for violating six violations of state directives related to COVID-19 safety, according to a statement from the city.

The statement from the city reads:

The City of Henderson advised Xtreme Manufacturing that an event planned for Sept. 13 at their facility must comply with the governor’s COVID-19 emergency directives to not gather in groups larger than 50 people, require the use of face coverings and practice social distancing. During the event, a compliance officer observed six violations of the directives and the City’s Business Operations Division has issued a Business License Notice of Violation to Xtreme Manufacturing and assessed a penalty of $3,000. The company has 30 calendar days to respond to the notice and pay the penalty or dispute the notice of violation.

Henderson’s case counts for patients testing positive for COVID-19 are by far the lowest amongst Southern Nevada’s jurisdictions and the City of Henderson would like to thank the businesses and residents who have followed the state guidelines to stay safe and healthy so that we can reopen all businesses and get people back to work.

Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak called Trump’s rally “reckless and selfish.” Trump also held a rally in Minden over the weekend.

The city said it warned Xtreme Manufacturing of potential fines ahead of the planned rally.

“The City of Henderson has issued a compliance letter and verbal warning to the event organizer that the event as planned would be in direct violation of the governor’s COVID-19 emergency directives. Specifically, gatherings of more than 50 people in a private or public setting is prohibited,” City of Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said in a statement.

“Large live events must be approved by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Division of Industrial Relations and at this time, the City has not been notified that this event has been approved. The City may assess a fine of up to $500 per violation of the governor’s directives as well as suspend or revoke the business license.”

Xtreme Manufacturing is owned by local businessman Don Ahern, also chairman and CEO of Ahern Rentals and owner of the Ahern Hotel, formerly the Lucky Dragon. The hotel was fined more than $10,000 last month by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration for hosting an “Evangelicals for Trump” event.

The Henderson facility has a page on its website with information on the company’s COVID-19 response for employees and customers, including “We have restricted meetings and gatherings to no more than 10 people in large areas, and when possible, to attend meetings by telephone or video conferencing.”

Ahern held a brief press conference at his hotel on Monday afternoon, where he read a prepared statement. In it, Ahern said he was born in Nevada and proud to be an American, “and believe it is my patriotic duty to do with is right for this country. What is right is supporting President Donald J. Trump.”

Ahern said his “goal” was “to continue the great American traditions of the right to assemble and to free speech.” He compared the thousands-attended rally to gaming tables, pool parties and protests. 

“I hope we come to an end of this activity now that the president has come and gone,” Ahern said. 

He ended the press conference after taking two questions, saying they’re in legal litigation and “respect everyone’s position in this situation.”

“We’ve got fallout happening,” Ahern said without elaborating. He alluded to another press conference “to go deeper” on Tuesday. 

Trump’s Henderson rally was the first held indoors since his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June. Tulsa saw a surge in coronavirus cases following the rally, according to state officials.

Richards couldn’t confirm how many people attended Trump’s Henderson rally.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright 2020 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.