Conservative activist Robert Beadles admits hiring private investigator who tracked Reno mayor

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Politically prominent Northern Nevada GOP activist and donor Robert Beadles has taken credit for hiring a private investigator who tracked Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve three years ago, ending a yearslong legal saga to unmask him as the client despite his attempts to remain anonymous.

Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung sued over the matter, alleging that tracking devices placed on their cars were an invasion of privacy. Beadles said in a statement Monday to The Nevada Independent and other mediaoutlets that he did not tell private investigator David McNeely to track or follow anyone, but to verify allegations made against them.

“I didn’t direct the investigator’s methods, and no laws were broken by me or the investigator,” Beadles said. “I’m being painted as the villain for believing public officials should be accountable to the people they serve. I stand by that principle, and I won’t apologize for seeking the truth.”

Beadles has touted election fraud conspiracies, used his money to sow doubts about the election system in Nevada’s most significant battleground county and funded efforts to remove from power officials who disagree with his worldview while boosting hand-selected candidates who openly questioned the results of the 2020 election.

His statement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of decisions from the Washoe County District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court that required the “John Doe” who paid for the GPS tracking of Schieve and other elected Northern Nevada officials to identify himself or herself.

Scheive filed the lawsuit in 2022 after she discovered a GPS tracking device on her car. Hartung later joined her, and the two asked a judge to compel the private investigator to reveal his client.

A joint investigation between The Nevada Independent, KUNR and APM Reports indicated that at least three politicians were investigated by private detectives in 2022: Schieve, Hartung and Washoe County Commissioner Mariluz Garcia.

At the time, Nevada law did not specifically forbid the use of a GPS tracker, but the Legislature later changed that, making it a misdemeanor to unlawfully install a mobile tracking device on a vehicle. The measure passed without opposition in the 2023 legislative session.

Bill sponsor Assemblymember Jill Dickman, a Republican from Sparks, said it came in response to Schieve’s discovery of the tracker.

“Everyone I talked to was shocked that it wasn’t already illegal,” Dickman said at the time.

McNeely, Hartung and Schieve did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Nevada Independent.

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This story was originally published by The Nevada Independent and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.