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Nevada Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak and his wife Kathy were threatened in a restaurant by two men who accused him of being part of the "New World Order." The men said they would "hang" him and mocked the fact he was dining without his security detail.
The Sisolaks—who had been planning to meet their daughter at the Lindo Michoacan restaurant in Las Vegas—were left shaken by the incident, especially in light of the fact the men directed racist language at his wife, who is of Chinese descent.
Cellphone video posted to social media showed a man in a red T-shirt reading “Cannabis and Combat” who asked Sisolak for a picture and put his arm around him before insulting him.
The encounter was captured on the video below.
NEVADA\n\n\u201cPatriot Sh*t!\u201d\n\n***LANGUAGEpic.twitter.com/k08tZHNim0— EyezontheHorizon \ud83d\udc41\ud83d\udc41 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@EyezontheHorizon \ud83d\udc41\ud83d\udc41 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1646025045
The video shows a man telling Sisolak that he "can’t tell you what a piece of f*cking sh*t you are" and referring to him as a "New World Order traitor piece of sh*t b*tch."
Insults are later directed toward Kathy Sisolak and there are references made to hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug some conservatives believe is a cure for COVID-19, and China which many conspiracy theorists allege manufactured COVID-19 in a laboratory.
The man wearing the "Cannabis and Combat" T-shirt was later identified as Justin Andersch, who posts rightwing conspiracy theories on a podcast whose title is the same phrase. He bragged about the incident on the podcast and was arrested shortly afterward.
Many took to social media to condemn the incident.
This is Nevada governor, Steve Sisolak, being accosted by a lunatic at a restaurant. These are the sort of deranged lunatics that have been emboldened by Trump, and starting to be more bold in Canada due to people like Candy Bergen, Ezra Levant, and Pat King.https://twitter.com/Gunz_go_boom/status/1498163742214868992\u00a0\u2026— \u042f \u0437 \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u043e\u044e \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 \ud83e\udd45 (@\u042f \u0437 \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u043e\u044e \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 \ud83e\udd45) 1646072280
This is disgusting behavior. There is nothing cool about this. Dude is the elected leader, you don't like it, work to elect someone else. \n\nThis person is pathetic for accosting @GovSisolak this way. \n\nBe better.https://twitter.com/Gunz_go_boom/status/1498163742214868992\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udd3c\ud835\udd5d\ud835\udd5d\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd60\ud835\udd65 \ud835\udd44\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd5d\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd5f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b (@\ud835\udd3c\ud835\udd5d\ud835\udd5d\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd60\ud835\udd65 \ud835\udd44\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd5d\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd5f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b) 1646080824
I disagree with @GovSisolak and some of his policies, but i would never attack him the way this punk did, that's no patriotism that's plain COWARDNESS, attacking a man and his family like thathttps://twitter.com/Gunz_go_boom/status/1498163742214868992\u00a0\u2026— Vegascabby (@Vegascabby) 1646105736
This is my Governor, Steve Sisolak, and his family being harassed in a local Las Vegas restaurant. This isn't patriotic. It's harassment. I'm sure this guy also thought the Jan 6th rioters were patriotic.https://twitter.com/Gunz_go_boom/status/1498163742214868992\u00a0\u2026— Rozenia Stanford (@Rozenia Stanford) 1646104798
Straight Vegas trash. And the smooth brained fools who encourage this kind of troglodyte behavior are traitors to humanity. You always lose. You just won't realize because you're too stupid to comprehend it. Meatheads.\n\nThey're really gonna hate when he wins re-election...https://twitter.com/8NewsNow/status/1498392111615520771\u00a0\u2026— The Reverend KFidds (@The Reverend KFidds) 1646089322
Look at the assault on Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak at a restaurant, then look at the joyful, gleeful reaction on-line, and the reaction of some Nevada politicians calling the attack justified, understandable, etc.\nWe are in a dangerous place.— Jay Bookman (@Jay Bookman) 1646168459
That\u2019s what happens when Insurrections are called \u201c legitimate political discourse \u201c— Amy Connors (@Amy Connors) 1646167556
We can always disagree with each other - however harassing and threatening the lives of government officials is beyond the pale.\n\nDisgusting and cowardly.https://twitter.com/Gunz_go_boom/status/1498163742214868992\u00a0\u2026— emericle (@emericle) 1646071290
The incident is perhaps the most high-profile one amid a spate of recent hate crimes that are being investigated in Las Vegas. Last year, an elected official erroneously declared that Kathy Sisolak has family members in China who have profited from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes have seen an uptick since the pandemic was politicized by former President Donald Trump and his administration, who regularly referred to the virus as "the China virus."
Last year, a study published in TheAmerican Journal of Public Health found Trump’s rhetoric led to a rise of anti-Asian sentiment online.
The study, which reviewed 1.2 million hashtags during the week of March 16, 2020––the first time Trump used the phrase “China virus” in a post––found that there was a “massive increase” in use of the hashtag #chinesevirus in reference to the Covid-19 pandemic. #chinesevirus eventually overtook #covid19 in popularity.