Upheaval in Nevada raises concerns over Democratic unity

LAS VEGAS (AP) — As Oregon and Kentucky queue up to vote in the Democratic presidential nominating contest, the pall of a divisive state party convention in Nevada hangs over the race.

The Nevada Democratic Party shuttered its offices for security reasons Monday and wrote a letter to the Democratic National Committee accusing supporters of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of having a "penchant for extra-parliamentary behavior — indeed, actual violence — in place of democratic conduct in a convention setting."

In the days prior, supporters of the Vermont senator were accused of throwing chairs and making death threats against Nevada Democratic Party chairwoman Roberta Lange.

The Nevada dissension does not change the likely outcome of the Democratic nominating contest, in which Clinton holds a commanding lead in pledged delegates and is expected to lock up enough to clinch the party's presidential nomination following primaries on June 7.

Anger swelled further after a credentials committee disqualified nearly 60 would-be Sanders' delegates, saying they didn't provide proper identifying information or were not registered Democratic voters by a May 1 deadline.

In a statement, the state party accused the Sanders campaign of deliberately sharing misinformation about how the convention operates to get people riled up.