City of Las Vegas forces Ahern Hotel to downsize pageant, days after hosting Trump event

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Mrs. Nevada-America Pageant held at the Ahern Hotel was temporarily halted after the City of Las Vegas' business licensing office arrived to ensure compliance of the governor's mandate of capacity restrictions and face coverings.

Social media reports citing a heavy police presence at the hotel located west of Las Vegas Boulevard on Sahara Avenue began just before 6:00 p.m.

RELATED | Gov. Sisolak slams Trump campaign for hosting large event in Las Vegas

Lt. Jeff Stuart with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the event's organizers complied with the city's order to downsize the event to meet compliance.

According to an eyewitness, the entire audience pageant was forced to leave in order for the competition to continue.

No citations were issued as a result of the incident, authorities said.

The Ahern Hotel has come under intense scrutiny in recent days as it has welcomed with open arms, several large events including an Evangelicals for Trump event with hundreds of attendees.

The hotel's general manager said they believed the incident was "retribution" for hosting the Trump campaign event.

"Our occupancy is 1,605 people and there were less than 200 people present tonight," said Keith Wright. "The Mayor of Las Vegas spoke at a meeting here for well over 50 people a few weeks ago, and nothing was said at that time."

As of a result of the Trump campaign's event, the city issued the hotel a civil penalty, fining them $250 for not complying with the governor's mandate.

State guidelines currently require gatherings to be limited to 50 people or less and indoor events may not exceed 50 percent capacity.

In a statement, the City of Las Vegas confirmed the event was stopped and added that city officials attempted to notify the hotel before the pageant would violate the governor’s directives.

During that encounter, a licensing officer was escorted off property by hotel security, according to a city spokesperson.

Additional information will be released by the City of Las Vegas on Monday, officials said.