Sheriff says Carson City prepared for election demonstrations

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong says Nevada law enforcement is fully expecting demonstrations in the Capitol over the next 10 days but that, for his department, “this is business as usual.”

“We’ve been handling them for 10 months now, every weekend, and they range from moderately small to large,” he said. “The big issue is the level of weapons that are at these demonstrations.”

Furlong said he and other Nevada law enforcement anticipated this “months ago.”

He said they expect a moderate demonstration Saturday and a larger one Sunday.

Furlong said both the Capitol and the Legislature building are “practically vacant now.”

“But Feb. 1 they will be occupied and if you think cooler heads will prevail, you’re crazy,” he said.

Furlong said the nearly 150-year-old Capitol is impossible to secure because of its numerous doors and windows and the same is true of the Legislature.

Furlong said to prepare, law enforcement from across the state has been meeting at least weekly and often more than once a week and, in fact, Carson agencies were meeting again Wednesday.

”I’m amazed at the cooperation we’re getting from agencies throughout the state,” he said.

But he said he is very concerned that the generally peaceful protests Carson has been having could change.

“It only takes one thing to go wrong and you will have a disaster,” he said.