The time has come, once again, for the Colorado Times Recorder’s weekly roundup of stories about extremism. From election conspiracies to anti-trans activists seeking public office and elected officials resigning over ethics violations, the Colorado political world has been eventful this past week. We are featuring articles from our own James O’Rourke, Colorado Newsline’s Sara Wilson, Colorado Politics’ Ernest Luning, and 9News’ Jennifer Meckles.
A nationwide election denial campaign that kicked off in Colorado, called the “Hand Count Road Show,” peddled falsehoods about both 2020 and 2024 election safety. Mark Cook, a software engineer, has become an increasingly vocal presence in the world of election conspiracism. Cook was one of the founding members of the U.S. Election Integrity Project (USEIP), a Colorado-based group that began falsely alleging that the 2020 election was from Trump, and helped to organize a “Patriot Caravan” to the Stop the Steal Rally that turned into the January 6th riots. Trump. Cook recently spoke at the South Jefferson County Tea Party and continues to tour counties across Colorado.
Gays Against Groomers, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ group with ties to other anti-government extremists like Moms for Liberty, recently announced his bid for Congress. Although Guggenheim is a Denver resident with a felony voter fraud conviction, he has filed to run in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.
Colorado Newsline: Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis Resigns from Colorado Senate Amid Ethics Investigation
Now former Democratic Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis announced her resignation from the Colorado State Senate. Jaquez Lewis formally resigned hours before an ethics committee met to continue investigating her alleged mistreatment of staff. On Tuesday morning, the Director of the Office of Legislative Services told other committee members investigating Jaquez Lewis that the author of one of the support letters Jaquez Lewis submitted to answer the complaint was likely forged.
Colorado Politics: Steve Bannon set to headline Colorado GOP’s annual fundraising dinner
Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who served four months in federal prison last year, is slated to headline the Colorado Republican Party’s annual fundraising dinner in March, five months after the popular podcaster’s release from federal prison, the state GOP announced Thursday.
9News: ‘A Real Bloodbath’ as more than 100 IRS employees laid off in Denver, union says
Over a 100 IRS employees working in the Denver office found out they had been laid off on Thursday. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) estimated that about 120 people were laid off from the Colorado office. The mass firing was part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to downsize the federal government. “This is not a buyout. They were fired today,” said Patricia Allen, president of NTEU Chapter 32. “They fired these people for no reason whatsoever, so it’s been a really devastating day, a real bloodbath.”
