Nevada Democratic Party Files Complaint Against Conduct of Sanders’ Supporters and Campaign

Attorney Tells DNC: “We believe, unfortunately, that the tactics and behavior on display here in Nevada are harbingers of things to come as Democrats gather in Philadelphia in July for our National Convention.”

The Nevada State Democratic Party on Monday filed a formal complaint with the DNC against the Bernie Sanders campaign and his supporters, the Associated Press reports Tuesday afternoon. Officials from the Nevada Democratic Party “warned the Democratic National Committee that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ supporters have a penchant for violence and may seek to disrupt the party’s national convention in July, as they did during the Nevada convention Saturday,” the AP states.

The letter states it is “a formal complaint regarding the conduct of supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders at the recent State Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 14, 2016, as well as the conduct of representatives of Senator Sanders’ presidential campaign (the “Sanders Campaign”).”

“The allegation is the latest fallout from a divisive Nevada Democratic convention that had to be shut down because security at the Paris Las Vegas hotel could no longer ensure order on Saturday night. The gathering closed with some Sanders supporters throwing chairs; later, some made death threats against state party chairwoman Roberta Lange,” according to the AP.

Sanders’ backers had been protesting convention rules that ultimately led to Hillary Clinton winning more pledged delegates. Clinton won the state’s caucuses in February, 53-47, but Sanders backers hoped to pick up extra delegates by packing county and state party gatherings.

Nevada journalist Jon Ralston obtained and posted a copy of the letter by Nevada Democratic Party attorney Bradley Schrager, sent to the DNC, as well as copies of threatening texts and voicemails sent to Party Chair Roberta Lange.

“We believe, unfortunately, that the tactics and behavior on display here in Nevada are harbingers of things to come as Democrats gather in Philadelphia in July for our National Convention. We write to alert you to what we perceive as the Sander Campaign’s  penchant for extra-parliamentary behavior—indeed, actual violence—in place of democratic conduct in a convention setting, and furthermore what we can only describe as their encouragement of, and complicity in, a very dangerous atmosphere that ended in chaos and physical threats to fellow Democrats,” the three-page letter, plus attachments, states.  

“Indeed, the threats to the Chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party are ongoing at time of this writing, as Sanders activists have posted her cell phone and home address online, and have bombarded her with threats to her life and the safety of her family,” the letter continues.  

“We have attached some examples of this conduct, which is not merely offensive but obviously criminal in nature. We can provide audio of threatening phone calls made directly to the Chair, which now number in the hundreds.”

ABC News also posted that section to Twitter:

The AP adds that several “Sanders backers have condemned some of the threats against Lange and other actions Saturday. Former state assemblywoman Lucy Flores, a current congressional candidate, said in a statement: ‘There were actions over the weekend and at the Democratic convention that very clearly crossed the line. Progressives need to speak out against those: Making threats against someone’s life, defacing private property, and hurling vulgar language at our female leaders.'”

Ralston, who writes for the Reno Gazette-Journal and frequently appears on the major news networks, adds that attorney Schrager “is clear he the party does not believe this is band of rogue delegates: ‘The Sanders Campaign spent its time either ignoring or profiting from the chaos it did much to create and nothing to diminish or mitigate. It was clear to the NSDP that part of the approach by the Sanders Campaign was to employ these easily-incensed delegates as shock troops to sway the convention proceedings. At the very least, these delegates became a way for the Sanders Campaign to seek the advantage of disruption at any particular moment while trying to disavow any responsibility for their actions even as it was ongoing. At no time did any Sanders representative make anything more than token gestures towards peace in the hall, and at the times of most intense crisis offered little more than shrugs and smirks.'”

Sanders himself has yet to decry the death threats to state Chair Roberta Lange or the raucous antics of his followers.

On his website, Ralston posts an assortment of voicemails and texts sent to Party Chair Roberta Lange. (We’ve deleted a portion of the telephone number the caller included, below.)

In one voicemail a male caller says, “Hi Roberta Lange. This is a citizen of the United States of America and I just wanted to let you know that I think people like you should be hung in a public execution to show this world that we won’t stand for this sort of corruption. I don’t know what kind of money they are paying to you, but I don’t know how you sleep at night. You are a sick, twisted piece of shit and I hope you burn for this! You can return my call at 619-xxx-xxxx. I’d love to go into further detail with you about this, though I am sure you don’t have courage to do so. You cowardless bitch, running off the stage! I hope people find you.”

The final page of Schrager’s letter includes a Dropbox link to audio recordings and screenshots of texts of threats against Lange. Here are three examples – NCRM has removed all identifying information of all parties – of texts linked to by Schrager, which were allegedly sent to Lange: