Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony (R) is suing the Nevada Ethics Commission over its determination that Anthony violated state ethics law by using state resources to set up a task force aimed at keeping transgender athletes out of women's sports, and a $3,000 fine stemming from the finding.

The suit, filed in Clark County District Court in early July, alleges that there were no violations of state ethics laws and that the ethics complaint centered "mostly on unsubstantiated claims" that Anthony improperly used staff time, official social media accounts and office resources for the task force. 

It further alleges there are no laws or policies prohibiting the lieutenant governor from advocating on political issues or pursuing policy initiatives through the role, arguing that his admission in a legislative meeting that he was "passionate" about the issue shouldn't be confused with him getting unwarranted personal benefit from working on the matter.

"There is no evidence of any unique private benefit or personal advantage to the petitioner as arising from the creation of the Task Force," the suit said. "All elected officials have (or should have) 'passion' for public policy issues."

The state ethics commission met Monday to decide on how to respond to the suit, and filed a formal intent to participate notice with the court on Monday. 

The initial ethics complaint was filed by the Nevadans for Equal Rights Committee in February 2025, which alleged that it was a "very clear case of corruption."

After finding that Anthony violated ethics law in March, the commission imposed a $3,000 civil penalty, required him to complete an ethics training, and called for his office to develop social media policies. 

Anthony said in a prior interview that he pushed to establish the task force to ensure fair competition and equal opportunity in women's sports, and prevent "awards and titles taken away from them" by transgender female athletes. 

Attorneys for Anthony said in the suit that the task force received intense public interest given the larger national debate about transgender athletes participation in sports and that the idea for the task force came from a staff member after they observed similar efforts in other states.   

Anthony's office has been at the center of at least three ethics complaints this year, most of which have been related to using state resources for political purposes. His office also faced allegations of age discrimination after he fired a longtime staffer in 2025. Anthony's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Read the filing here: