Speaking before a crowded room at a bar in Calhan Feb. 12, El Paso County, Colorado, Sheriff candidate Todd Watkins affirmed his commitment to upholding the U.S. Constitution and fighting against what he sees as rampant government corruption.
Watkins’ campaign event was billed as “Muster for Todd Watkins.” Typically, the word “muster” refers to a gathering of troops preparing for battle.
Currently serving as an emergency manager for the U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters based in Washington D.C., Watkins is a former border patrol agent who combated drug smuggling and terrorist activities along the United States-Mexico border.
Despite his years of service in the U.S. Army and various government organizations, Watkins says the government is deeply corrupt from the state to the federal level.
“We The People are supposed to be in charge, but we’re not,” he says on his campaign website. “We have corrupt elected officials who appoint and hire corrupt bureaucrats to impose their political ideology on us. We cannot trust them. We can’t even trust our elections. Government at every level has abandoned the principles and the purpose of our Constitution — to control the government; not to control the population.”
Speaking briefly to the Colorado Times Recorder at the campaign event, Watkins said that if elected he would investigate alleged cases of voter fraud in El Paso County. He said he will follow the evidence wherever it leads, adding that the investigation may spill over into other jurisdictions.
There is no evidence of significant voter fraud anywhere in Colorado, including El Paso County, and Watkins doesn’t state how he would, as sheriff, conduct such investigations.
Watkins declined to give further comment on this and other subjects relating to his campaign.
On his website, Watkins elaborated on his intent to investigate alleged voter fraud.
“Since none of the officials who are actually responsible for ensuring election integrity have the will or the wherewithal to do this, the Sheriff accepts the responsibility to take and consider evidence of wrongdoing during and connected to the conduct of our elections and pursue criminal investigations predicated on reasonable suspicion of unlawful actions,” the website states.
If elected, Watkins said he would end mask and vaccine mandates by refusing to enforce them. On his website, Watkins says these mandates and other measures such as stay-at-home orders and the closing of non-essential businesses are a gross violation of people’s constitutional rights.
“I want to be elected to this office so that I can leave you alone,” Watkins said to the crowd gathered at Karen’s Kafe and Stephanie’s Bar And Grill.
Attendees of the event who agreed to speak with the Colorado Times Recorder said they intended to vote for Watkins because he’s someone who’s willing to fight for their constitutional rights.
A common concern among the attendees was that COVID-19 vaccines are harmful and that natural immunity negates the need for vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refutes these claims, stating that vaccines provide a higher level of protection than natural immunity alone.
