Concerns raised over outdoor NV debate gatherings

(AP) - Brian Sandoval's campaign expressed concerns after a fistfight broke out a recent U.S. Senate candidate forum that supporters could clash outside a scheduled gubernatorial debate in Las Vegas and prove "hazardous."

Sandoval's campaign asked the Nevada Broadcasters Association to "do away with" gatherings outside the television studio where the debate between Sandoval and Democrat Rory Reid will be held Oct. 7, according to an e-mail obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

"While there will be security, it's our view that for our supporters who attend outside it is still hazardous," Sandoval spokeswoman Mary-Sarah Kinner wrote.

Bob Fisher, president of the broadcasters group, said Kinner's concerns and the campaign's request not to allow outside rallies of supporters are understandable given the anger gripping the country ahead of the midterm election and the ugly tone of partisan politics.

"It is a bold request, but if you look at what's going on around the country, it may just be a reasonable request," he said. "Our year of preparation can be spoiled by the times, and the times they are a changing. People are just so angry."

He said he supports the participation of volunteers, and told Sandoval's campaign it was their choice whether to discourage their own supporters from attending.

"It's not our tailgate party," Fisher told the AP.

Kinner, when contacted Monday, said the campaign hasn't made a decision on whether it will ask Sandoval's supporters not to show up.

"We're having those discussions as a campaign now," she said. "I think it seems like these kinds of things now have the potential to get out of control."

Mike Trask, spokesman for Rory Reid, said his campaign would make no such request.

"We obviously want to gather outside and allow our supporters the opportunity to express themselves and support Rory," Trask said.

He said hundreds of people were outside the candidates' last debate Aug. 29 at the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.

"Everyone was well behaved," he said. "Brian had supporters there, too. It's a great atmosphere."

Volunteers, he said, "want to get out and be involved in this process."

Allen Lichtenstein, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said whether supporters assemble on private property will be up to the broadcaster's association, but no one can prevent them from rallying on the public sidewalk.

"It's a fundamental First Amendment right," he said, adding he's confident Las Vegas police will "be able to handle even competing groups of protesters and supporters on the sidewalk."

Kinner's e-mail to the broadcasters was in response to the association's notification of the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates that security for their upcoming debates has been tightened and the number of guests they can invite reduced from 40 to 12.

Fisher said besides the tussle at last week's Senate forum, part of the reason for limiting audience members is tied to logistics of holding the debate in a small studio and an overwhelming number of requests from media to attend the Oct. 14 Senate debate between Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Sharron Angle, who has the backing of the tea party.

"We do not think that the studio can accommodate 80 people plus an unknown number of press," Fisher said, adding that requests for media credentials were just starting to arrive.

He also noted that a jib arm camera - a camera mounted on a boom - will be used, "and we cannot afford to have an accident on live television with someone walking around during the debate."

"It is easier to work with 24 people as opposed to 80," he said.

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Associated Press Writer Cristina Silva in Las Vegas contributed to this report.