Former Native American owner claims he was discriminated against at Nevada hotel and casino
A former tribal official recently filed a lawsuit against the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada, alleging civil rights violations and discrimination.
Jimmy-John Thompson of Sacramento, Calif., the former chairman of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe in California, filed a lawsuit against the property in May in Nevada state court.
Thompson was staying at the resort on Oct. 15 for a Western Mining Action Network meeting when he noticed smoke coming from a vent in his Grand Sierra room and called the hotel's front desk.
An employee sent a staff member to check for a reported smoke odor. The employee found no cause for the smoke, but the hotel moved Thompson to another room.
Thompson remained concerned about the smoke and notified the Reno Fire Department. Reno firefighters arrived at the hotel and told Thompson the source of the smoke had been extinguished.
Shortly after, two hotel security guards arrived at Thompson's hotel room.
Accused of arson, deported
Security ordered Thompson out of the hotel and accused him of setting a fire in his previous hotel room, Local News Online reported.
"I felt guilty from the beginning," Thompson recently told Local News Online. "They (hotel-casinos) don't want to hear from me."
Because Thompson also suffered from deep vein thrombosis (DVT), doctors prescribed medications whose side effects included involuntary convulsions when Thompson was cold, the lawsuit states.
While forced to sleep in the car at 4 a.m., Thompson suffered multiple convulsions, the lawsuit states.
Thompson also missed a planned visit to the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine due to the incident.
"The treatment Jimmy-John Thompson received at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino was appalling and there was no reasonable basis for the treatment he received," Thompson's Las Vegas-based attorney Norberto J. Cisneros told Native News Online".
"Reporting a possible fire... he was charged with arson and then he was kicked out of the hotel at 4 a.m. and forced to sleep in his car without a chance to explain or refute his attempts to save lives," Cisneros added. "If he wasn't Native American, if this was a person of color, he would never have experienced this kind of treatment. It's embarrassing and it damages a person's reputation."
The lawsuit seeks at least $15,000 in damages.
The casino did not respond
Cisneros wrote to the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino twice about the incident.
"We haven't heard from them yet," Cisneros told Local News Online. "I've never seen anything like this in my career."
Thompson’s right to public accommodation was violated and the lawsuit continues.
I contacted the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. There was no immediate comment.
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Source: www.casino.org
