Wife of Lombardo campaign manager marched with Jan. 6 rioters
The wife of Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo’s campaign manager participated in the march that led up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Lombardo has already been scrutinized for not condemning President Donald Trump’s blanket pardon of Jan. 6 insurrectionists, many of whom assaulted police officers and have since gone on to commit new crimes.
All of this could undermine the tough-on-crime message Lombardo has put at the center of his competitive reelection bid.
Lombardo’s campaign is being managed by Republican strategist Joe Weaver, who owns JW Political LLC and previously worked as the political director for Lombardo’s Better Nevada PAC.
CNN reported in July 2022 that Weaver’s wife, Courtney Holland, attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, protesting the congressional certification of Joe Biden as president of the United States.
The rally began at the Ellipse, a large park just south of the White House, where Trump gave a speech claiming the 2020 election had been stolen from him. The crowd then marched to the Capitol, where the rest of the rally was scheduled to take place.
Holland, who also works as a Republican strategist, was slated to give a speech at the second location, but things turned violent before she could. She spoke at a similar rally in Washington D.C. in November 2020.
According to CNN, Holland posted a picture to social media of herself marching to the Capitol while flanked by members of the Oath Keepers, an extremist, far-right group that helped plan the resulting attack. She later deleted the post.
There is no evidence that Holland entered the Capitol, nor has she been charged with a crime. She told CNN that she expected a peaceful gathering and said she thought the men she was photographed with were “event security.”
Despite these disavowals, Holland wrote on social media immediately after the attack that she was “not giving up on fighting for Trump.” A year later, she wrote on Instagram that Jan. 6 was “not an insurrection” and described it as a “solemn day” that Democrats are now exploiting.
Lombardo’s campaign website touts his support for law enforcement. But his association with Holland and his failure to denounce the pardons may suggest that he has some tolerance for the violence insurrectionists directed at Capitol police.
Video footage shows the mob pummeling Officer Michael Fanone before he was shot in the neck with a stun gun. Officer Brian Sicknick was doused with pepper spray and later died of a stroke. Other officers reported being attacked with metal poles and beaten by insurrectionists wearing brass knuckles.
Lombardo’s pro-police claims were already on shaky ground. State police vacancies increased after he vetoed a pay raise for Nevada troopers. State police no longer patrol Reno between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. as a result. Only two to three officers now patrol the entire Las Vegas valley overnight.
Lombardo previously served as Clark County sheriff between 2015 and 2023. Under his leadership, Las Vegas saw two of its deadliest years since 1990 in 2016 and 2017. These are the same years that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer-involved shootings more than doubled.
Lombardo is running for a second term as governor. His Democratic opponent is state Attorney General Aaron Ford.
