From Stein v. City of Las Vegas, decided Monday by Judge James Mahan (D. Nev.):
This case arises from a disruption at a Las Vegas City Council meeting. Stein, a Texas resident, traveled to Las Vegas and attended a City Council meeting on August 17, 2022. The complaint provides that Stein frequently speaks at municipal meetings and is known for using "humor to bring attention to serious social and political issues."
Stein alleges that he planned to bring attention to the exploitative practices of Las Vegas casinos and that he incorporated a humorous anecdote while speaking to City Council members. Before Stein's allotted time had expired, Mayor Goodman interrupted Stein, whose microphone was subsequently cut off. Fiore then ordered the marshals to remove Stein from chambers….
Nevada law allows for the ejection of a speaker from a public meeting if he "willfully disrupts a meeting to the extent that its orderly conduct is made impractical." …
Although the question of whether a person's actions are disruptive appears inherently subjective on the surface, Stein's conduct, combined with the totality of the circumstances, was in violation of both Nevada law and the City Council Code of Conduct.
Defendants points to Stein's language as disruptive. Stein stated the following before his microphone was muted: "I end up meeting a nice Filipino girl. I take her back to my hotel room … I ended up having a good time. We started kissing. We take off our clothes. She has male genitalia. She's a transgender." Subsequently, Mayor Goodman interrupted Stein and reminded him "[w]e're in a public venue" and asked if he could remain calm.
