It all started around 2 p.m. on Friday, April 10, at the corner of Maine Street and West Williams Avenue at Millennium Park across from the New River Township Justice Court. Community members, as well as Republican conservative gubernatorial candidate Matthew Winterhawk, came to protest Justice Court Judge Benjamin Trotter’s recent decisions to release certain individuals without bail, or on their Own Recognizance (OR).
Sarah Levy, who organized the protest, said Trotter’s recent decision to release a woman arrested on March 26, charged with 29 felony counts of alleged promotion and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) without bail, was the breaking point, noting, “It has become a pattern, and so this was sort of the final straw.” She explained that she thought the protest “would give people an outlet or tool to practice their constitutional right and to send a message.”
Levy also said that “remaining silent would just be approving of his behaviors.” She added, “I consider that anybody who is being charged with a sexual crime against a child that in and of itself is a threat,” later noting that “children are the most vulnerable.”
Protesters attending the demonstration were asked what they hoped to achieve and what they hoped that the spectators, courts, and county could learn and take away from the protest.
Protester Tonya Freeman, who was also a 2022 candidate for County Commission, said, “To get Trotter out of office or get him aligned with what the law actually says. We need to protect children from predators, so he needs to stop this.”
Another resident, Mr. Parrish, stated, “Children are our most precious commodity, and for judges to allow them to be harmed in any way and then not punish the people that did it, there’s something not quite right about that.”
Eric Weber, another Fallon resident, said, “I’m just hoping that we can convince Judge Trotter to stop releasing people without bail that are repeat offenders. Especially with child predators.” He added, “If enough people come out here, they're going to learn that this is not something the community is going to let slide.”
Longtime Fallon resident Leonore Proctor said, “We can’t really change what the judge is doing, because of the Valdez-Jimenez v. Eighth Judicial District Court case in 2020, but the judges have discretion and he could have made his decision, and if he really doesn’t think he can, then we have to change that law. If anything, we want people to know what the law is and that it has to be fixed.” Proctor added, “They will notice that people care, and that we are watching them.”
Brandon and Michelle Cox explained that they believe Trotter has the right to hold these predators. They asked, “Why doesn’t he think they are a threat to the community? And why is he letting them go?” Michelle added, “I hope they learn that we are not okay with it.”
Matthew Winterhawk, who is running for governor in the upcoming election, came from Las Vegas for the protest. During the event, he took turns at the megaphone, encouraging passersby to protect Nevada’s children from predators.
He said that public protest is a form of civic engagement, saying “lawfare activism is a great part of it.” He noted that rural demonstrations carry particular weight, saying, “When your rurals are doing this, there's [something] vastly wrong and needs to be looked at from a leadership angle.”
When asked how he heard about the event, he said he was frequently in Fallon. “You call, you get me,” he added, “If a town calls and asks for me, I show up.” He added, “I run a grassroots campaign,” he said, noting that he was the only person running his campaign and that he focuses on direct accessibility across Nevada’s 17 counties.
As a side note, after being asked what he would say to someone who wants to run as a young governor, Winterhawk encouraged civic education and participation, urging younger generations to “learn your history, learn your paperwork, and know your rights.”
The demonstration lasted nearly three hours, with some protesters still at the megaphone at 5 p.m.
See last week’s article, “The Great Debate: Public Safety vs. Rules on Bail and OR Releases,” for Judge Trotter’s response to growing concerns about no-bail releases.
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