Venue trashed the night before Bobby Khan’s “Unfiltered,” but it didn’t stop him

By Kristen Kniep

Nevada News and Views

The “Bobby Khan Unfiltered” event almost didn’t happen. Just hours before Khan was set to take the stage, someone tried to shut it all down.

A Venue in Shambles

When Khan and his team showed up at the Dragon Gate the night before, the place looked like a war zone.

The front door was smashed in. Wires were pulled out. Sound equipment smashed. The bar trashed. Even the restaurant’s POS system had been destroyed. Furniture was flipped and thrown everywhere.

Many candidates would have canceled right then. Instead, Khan and his crew rolled up their sleeves. From 8:30 p.m. until the early hours of the morning, they worked to put it all back together.

They weren’t alone. Khan’s longtime friend DJ Ashba, former lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses, stepped in to help replace the missing audio/visual gear. Two members of Ashba’s team ran the program for him the next day.

By sheer grit (and a lot of coffee), the show went on.

Opening Moments

When the doors opened, the program kicked off with prayer from Judge Angel, the retired judge and host of NBC’s All Stars. Then came a beautiful rendition of our national anthem sung by Yetta Brown, a Las Vegas singer with a powerhouse voice.

The crowd saw video tributes from Sarah Blake Morgan, influencer and wife of a veteran, and MMA legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

The Star Guest

The featured speaker was actress Dawn Olivieri, known for roles in Yellowstone, Homestead, and recently Lioness. But she wasn’t there just as a Hollywood name.

Olivieri also runs Moon Mountain Sanctuary & Rescue and is developing Ashva Prasada, a tech project that uses drones to deliver contraceptives to wild horses.

Both Olivieri and Khan made a point to highlight the issue: Nevada is home to nearly half of America’s wild horses.

Instead of more government roundups and euthanasia, they argued for smarter, humane solutions.

Bobby Khan’s Message

Of course, the night was about more than surviving sabotage. Khan laid out his vision for Congress, blending personal redemption with practical goals:

—Law and order with second chances, drawn from his own past and promise of accountability without abandoning redemption.

—Supporting veterans and families, with real stories like Sarah Blake Morgan’s bringing the message home.

—Straight talk and no filters, the kind of leadership he says Washington needs.

—Protecting Nevada’s heritage, including wild horses and open land.

From Setback to Spotlight

In the end, the sabotage backfired. Instead of stopping the event, it gave Khan’s team a chance to show resilience. What could have been a disaster turned into a rallying cry.

Khan isn’t running on a perfect, polished image — he’s here to be real. He’s ready to get his hands dirty (and occasionally, pull an all-nighter to keep the show on the road).

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Born and raised in Las Vegas, Kristen Kniep is a budding journalist focused on underreported national stories and local events, offering readers a conservative perspective often missing from mainstream coverage. Driven more by curiosity than partisanship, she aims to highlight stories that matter but don’t always make the front page.