CORNING, Calif. (AP) — Citing a potential threat to public safety, a federal judge has banned guns from a
Northern California Native American casino that’s at the center of a tense tribal dispute.
U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller imposed a temporary restraining order on the Paskenta Band of
Nomlaki Indians prohibiting warring factions from deploying armed guards or bringing firearms within 100
yards of the tribe’s Rolling Hills Casino in Corning.
The Sacramento Bee reports Friday (http://bit.ly/TdGAIw) that the weapons ban extends to tribal
properties around the casino, including nearby hotels and an RV park.
Mueller stopped short of closing the $100 million-a-year casino, as one faction had requested, until the
battle over who controls the tribe and its resources is resolved.
The tensions began in April when the tribe’s general council voted to remove more than 70 members from
the tribe’s rolls.