About 250 people filled Carson City's Fuji Park Wednesday morning for a political rally organized by the Tea Party Express II bus tour.
The 38-city event traversing the United States is sponsored by conservative groups such as Americans for Prosperity and the American Conservative Union. It ends Nov. 12 in Orlando, Fla., after starting Sunday in San Diego.
It was locally organized by Sue Kyle, a retiree and political activist from Washoe Valley.
Dozens of yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flags flapped in the chilly autumn morning as participants listened to recorded brass bands play patriotic tunes over loudspeakers, followed by Nevada politicians giving speeches.
Assemblyman John Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, who is running for the state Senate in 2010, carried a "Beat Reid" sign before addressing the crowd.
"This isn't just about taxes, it's about a loss of freedom," he said, mentioning a meeting at the statehouse Wednesday morning that was reviewing Nevada's tax policy.
Republican candidates for U.S. Senate Sharron Angle and Robin Titus also addressed the crowd. Both are trying to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a target for many speakers at the event.
During the rally, Sue Abrams, 62, was walking her terrier, which was wearing a custom-made sandwich board that read, "I'll keep my bones and kibbles, you can keep the change."
"I'm an American and I'm trying to save our country," said Abrams, a real estate broker from South Shore in Lake Tahoe. She added she opposes "Marxists" in the government.
One man carried a sign that read "Taxation w/o Representation = Revolution" while another carried a snow shovel over his shoulder with a photo of President Barack Obama and the message, "Call me when you're shovel ready."
Deborah Johns, vice chairman of Our Country Deserves Better PAC who is traveling in the Tea Party bus tour, told the crowd to vote politicians out of office if they don't adhere to conservative political principles, regardless of party.
"You have got Washington on the run," Johns said. "You have moved them to the defense. You are on the offense. You are history-making people."
The so-called tea parties started in April in many U.S. cities amid the initial weeks following the approval of the $787 billion federal stimulus package. Similar events were organized during the summer throughout the nation.