RENO, Nevada (AP) — Three people were arrested and charged Wednesday in connection with a verbal altercation last week in Virginia City, Nevada, during which a Black man said a racial slur was directed at him by a man who also said “they have a hanging tree” for people like him.
The incident occurred when Ricky Johnson was collecting signatures for a ballot measure during the popular Hot August Nights classic car festival in Virginia City, a tourist town just south of Reno. Johnson began videoing after the alleged racist comments were directed at him. In the video Johnson demands that the man repeat the words on video.
A loud, profanity-filled argument on both sides followed before a woman told Johnson he was on her property. Johnson repeatedly asks her not to touch him as they move the conversation into the street, the video shows. At no time on the video is the “hanging tree” comment repeated, nor are any racial epithets uttered.
Johnson posted the video to TikTok on Aug. 2, drawing prompt condemnation from local and state officials. The Storey County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Johnson and others involved, then turned over evidence to the district attorney.
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office issued a news release saying two women and a man had been arrested and booked into jail. The man in the video was charged with breach of peace, a gross misdemeanor that includes making threatening comments based on race. One of the women was charged with battery and the other with interfering with a peace officer, both misdemeanors.
The arrests drew quick praise from Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is Black.
“The public outcry was heard loud and clear, and steps have been taken to hold these individuals accountable for their racist and unlawful actions,” Ford said.
Johnson, from Houston, was in Virginia City working for Advanced Micro Targeting Inc., a Texas-based company that provides voter outreach and get-out-the-vote services. He was collecting signatures for a proposed Nevada state ballot initiative aimed at capping fees that attorneys collect from clients in personal injury cases.
The verbal altercation occurred in downtown Virginia City, an old mining town that attracts tens of thousands of tourists who walk its wood-planked sidewalks filled with old saloons and stores.
“I’m still shaking every time I think about it,” Johnson told The Associated Press by phone Monday before returning to Texas.
————
Kelety reported from Phoenix
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
Former Piston shows Detroit what they’re missing as he dominates next to LeBron
Eastbound I-80 closure in San Francisco snarls traffic, slows business
Petar Musa’s Brace Not Enough as FC Dallas Draws LA Galaxy 2-2
MLS: Messi double helps Inter Miami slay Rapids in front of huge crowd
From across Boston they flock to play for Latin Academy boys’ tennis, a co-op of 29 schools – The Boston Globe
Dale Kistler Obituary | The Denver Post
WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: Warm day, but far below record
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
