Six years ago this Easter, I was standing on the Las Vegas Strip in a light drizzle organizing what was likely one of the earliest anti-lockdown protests in the country. Up north, two more caravans were rolling at the exact same moment. I organized those, too.
People couldn't gather to pray. On Easter. In America. Then-Governor Steve Sisolak had seen to it personally.
His directive was explicit:
“places of worship are prohibited from holding in-person services with 10 or more people, including drive-in or pop-up services, for the duration of the State of Emergency.”
People in their own cars. Banned from worshipping God on the holiest day of the Christian calendar.
Those caravans likely predated what most people remember as the first major anti-lockdown protests in the country. Michigan's “Operation Gridlock” made national headlines, but that didn't happen until April 15.
Nevada was already moving three days earlier: About 50 vehicles drove through the rain on Las Vegas Boulevard, flags flying, signs in windows, with one participant dressed as the Easter Bunny.
The Legal Fight That Followed
In the weeks that followed, I worked to get Alliance Defending Freedom focused specifically on Nevada. I tagged them directly on social media, made graphics, and kept pushing to connect with them through affiliated advocates.
Two weeks after Easter, I posted publicly:
“We did an Easter Caravan Protest in 3 Nevada cities opposing the Governor's order against drive in church services. Now they are working to get drive in movies opened, instead. Please help Nevada!”
The contrast said it all. You could sit in your car and watch a movie. You could not sit in your car and pray.
@AllianceDefends
We did an Easter Caravan Protest in 3 Nevada cities opposing the Governors order against drive in church services. Now they are working to get drive in movies opened, instead. Please help Nevada! #ReligiousFreedomIsEssential https://t.co/Y2oukOdUpa pic.twitter.com/t2ofZW016C— BrutalBrittany💕 (@BrutalBrittany2) April 25, 2020
ADF is one of the most effective religious liberty legal organizations in the country and has been fighting these battles across multiple states. I believed Nevada's situation was exactly the kind of case they needed to see.
It worked. I was in that first legal meeting.
While I had spent weeks getting ADF to Nevada, then-Senator James Settelmeyer had already connected with a northern Nevada church that was ready to fight. That church would become the plaintiff.
When ADF and that plaintiff came together, that collaboration produced Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak.
The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sisolak's orders kept shifting: a moving target that made legal challenges difficult. But the underlying pattern of discriminatory rules for churches never changed. When Nevada began its phased reopening, the disparity became impossible to ignore.
Under Sisolak's reopening plan, churches were capped at 50 people regardless of building size, while restaurants, bars, casinos, and gyms could operate at 50% of their total capacity. A massive Strip casino could host hundreds. A church with a 500-seat sanctuary was still limited to 50.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford — now running for governor — is on the other side of that case. Ford personally defended Sisolak's church discrimination all the way to the nation's highest court.
The Court denied the injunction in a brief, unsigned order. Conservative Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh all dissenting. Their opinions ran 24 pages and pulled no punches.
Justice Gorsuch wrote:
“A 10-screen ‘multiplex' may host 500 moviegoers at any time. A casino, too, may cater to hundreds at once … But churches, synagogues, and mosques are banned from admitting more than 50 worshippers — no matter how large the building, how distant the individuals, how many wear face masks, no matter the precautions at all. In Nevada, it seems, it is better to be in entertainment than religion.”
Justice Alito noted that the Constitution:
“guarantees the free exercise of religion” but “says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack.”
Justice Kavanaugh was direct:
“Nevada has offered no persuasive justification for that overt discrimination against places of worship.”
The churches ultimately won, but through a separate, related case. In December 2020, the 9th Circuit ruled in Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain v. Sisolak, finding that Sisolak's directive.
“treats numerous secular activities and entities significantly better than religious worship services.”
The victory came just in time for Christmas.
Settelmeyer Was Fighting on Every Front
The church battle wasn't the only fight Settelmeyer was engaged in during those years. In 2019, Democrats in Carson City passed two revenue bills without the two-thirds supermajority the Nevada Constitution requires.
Led by Settelmeyer, Republicans sued. He said Democratic leaders:
“knowingly violated the Nevada Constitution.”
The Nevada Supreme Court ruled unanimously for taxpayers. Both bills were found unconstitutional. The state was forced to stop collecting the extra DMV fee and set up refunds for money already taken from drivers.
Settelmeyer put it plainly:
“It just shows that they stole money from people when they didn't have the authority to do so.”
He also pushed back when the Legislature locked out the public during the pandemic.
On the first day of the 2021 session, Settelmeyer said:
“The constitution dictates that building has to be open for the session. And we weren't in the special session. That building should be open to the same rules and requirements as society is.”
And from the Senate floor:
“I think it's beholden upon us to start coming up with some type of a criteria that we can immediately go forward with to start allowing citizens into this building to testify on these important matters that are before us. Because to me, I think we're doing an injustice to the system by not having that.”
Open government mattered to him even when it wasn't popular to say so.
The Attacks Don't Hold Up
Some in the CD2 Republican primary are painting Settelmeyer as not conservative enough. It's a common charge in crowded primaries, and voters will sort it out.
But I was there on Easter Sunday 2020. I organized those protests. I worked to bring ADF into Nevada. I was in that first legal meeting. And I had already connected with Settelmeyer, who helped Dayton Valley Calvary to get the representation they needed to move forward.
When Sisolak banned Nevadans from worshipping in their own cars on the holiest day of the year, Settelmeyer was engaged. When Democrats tried to pocket $112 million in unconstitutional revenue, he went to court and won. When the Capitol doors shut on the public, he said so on the record.
Six Years Later
This Easter marks six years since those caravans rolled through the drizzle on the shuttered Las Vegas Strip. Here's what I've learned in the years of fighting these battles:
Most politicians are great at talking about limited government. Very few of them are available when the government actually comes for you. Settelmeyer is one of the rare ones. When Nevada banned Easter, I called him. He called back. We got to work.
That's not a talking point. That's a track record.
This race will be decided in the June primary. That's when CD2 voters get to show up for someone who showed up for them.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
