Welcome back to CTR’s weekly roundup of stories relating to political extremism. With the Colorado March for Life happening last Friday, this week’s focus will be on anti-abortion activism. We have two articles from Heidi Beedle, the first detailing a new movie by anti-abortion activist Seth Gruber that was screened at Colorado Christian University, and another documenting the march itself. In addition to Heidi’s pieces, we’re highlighting an article from Jason Salzman and Erik Maulbetsch about five Colorado Springs news outlets, including the Colorado Springs Gazette, that removed articles about the 2019 arrest of Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko. Another article below comes from Westword’s Patricia Calhoun, who covered a judge ruling that Newsmax, a conservative media outlet, defamed Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based firm.
Planned Propaganda: Anti-Abortion ‘1916 Project’ Plays at Colorado Christian University
Colorado Christian University’s Centennial Institute hosted a film screening of The 1916 Project, the latest cinematic endeavor of anti-abortion activist Seth Gruber that demonizes Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. After the film played, A.J. Hurley, an anti-abortion activist with Gruber’s White Rose Resistance organization addressed the audience urging them to take action in their communities over the issue of abortion. Hurley was arrested in 2022 for stalking and harassing a San Francisco doctor.
March for Life Opposes Amendment 79’s Expansion of Abortion Insurance Coverage
Last Friday, anti-abortion activists rallied at the Colorado Capitol for the second annual Colorado March for Life, which is affiliated with the national March for Life organization that hosts its annual march in Washington, D.C. Speakers at the event demanded that Gov. Jared Polis veto the bill brought forward that would cover abortion and abortion-related medical procedures in Medicaid. State Senator Mark Baisley (R-Sedalia) also spoke at the event, Baisley is running for governor in 2026.
Former Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko’s 2019 arrest was covered by five local news outlets. Last year, CTR reporter Heidi Beedle cited one of these articles in a story about Czelatdko’s state House run. Czelatdko subsequently emailed CTR, threatening legal action if CTR did not remove the reference to her in the story. Five news outlets pulled stories regarding Czelatdko’s 2019 arrest, although the reporting on the incident and the subsequent dropping of charges is confirmed to be accurate. This comes as media outlets have been under pressure from conservatives.
Westword: Judge rules Newsmax Defamed Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems
On April 9, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis determined that the right-wing media channel Newsmax had defamed Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based electronic voting hardware company, by falsely accusing it of rigging the 2020 election. This ruling is one of several suits brought by Dominion against Newsmax ahead of an April 28 jury trial.
