'We should string you up': Men chase and hurl racist abuse at Nevada guv Steve Sisolak and wife
During the weekend, two men followed Nevada governor Steve Sisolak and his wife out of a Las Vegas restaurant, hurling foul language and threats at them. A man filmed himself confronting Governor Steve, who was with his wife and daughter at the Lindo Michoacan restaurant in Summerlin, Las Vegas. Police are investigating the incident.
The man, identified by the Las Vegas Review Journal as far-right conspiracy theorist Justin Andersch, recorded himself putting his arm around Sisolak and appeared to ask for a selfie before turning on the Democratic governor and threatening him with violence.
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Before being joined by another aggressor, Andersch asks, pointing his cellphone near Steve's face, "Where's your security at, punk, huh? We should string you up by a lamp post right now," he yelled as he followed Sisolak and his wife out of the restaurant. "You working-for-China son of a b***h," Andersch said.
Kathy Sisolak, a former municipal finance specialist of Chinese ancestry who has been accused by the far right of benefitting from the state's mask mission, appears to have been the target of Andersch's last remark.
Donna Cox, a rural Nye County elected official, stated in August that Kathy Sisolak's family members were benefitting from the sale of Covid-19 PPE in China, and that she had encouraged her husband to reinstate the mask mandate. The official provided no evidence to back up her anti-Asian claims.
Following the restaurant altercation, the governor has decried the 'racist threat' made against his wife. He was 'deeply disappointed in how this incident unfolded, particularly with the language used to talk about First Lady Kathy Sisolak's heritage,' according to his assistant. 'We can disagree about the issues, but the personal attacks and threats are unwarranted, unwelcome and unbecoming behavior for Nevadans.'
The footage comes to a close at the parking lot. Ashley Sisolak, a lawyer and public defender, comes up to her parents as they approach their vehicle, and the governor turns away. "Because your daughter's with you, I'm going to leave you alone now," Andersch said.
Nevada Gov Steve Sisolak gets “leftist style” reception from a patriot. Didn’t seem to enjoy it…👇 pic.twitter.com/1l8UrH6DM0
— 🦠 VARIANT OF CONCERN 🦠 (@mmercer01) February 28, 2022
State police are investigating, according to Kim Yoko Smith of the Nevada State Department of Public Safety. The Sisolaks, who were going to meet Steve's daughter, were not accompanied by a state security officer at the restaurant. On Monday, February 28, a phone number that could have been related to Andersch was no longer in service.
Kathy Sisolak was the budget manager for Clark County before marrying Steve Sisolak in 2018. She also founded Hobbes, Ong & Associates in Las Vegas and worked as a public sector financial consultant.
According to a survey released earlier this month, anti-Asian hate crimes soared by 339 percent nationwide last year.