A pair of Colorado GOP leaders are attending a fundraiser tomorrow for a pro-gun advocacy group that is billing the event as a “Honoring 9/11 Heroes Luau.”
“Dress in your best tactical Hawaiian,” reads an Aug. 15 Instagram post from event organizer, The 2nd Syndicate, a 501c4 dark money group that is the receiving all of the money raised via drinks and raffle ticket sales
The Evite RSVP page also instructs attendees to “dress in your best tactical Hawaiian,” a look popularized in 2020 by the far-right anti-government “Boogaloo” movement, in which armed activists attended pandemic lockdown protests wearing Hawaiian shirts and tactical gear. The term “boogaloo” is a slang reference to an upcoming second civil war.
In May 2020, Denver Police confiscated multiple assault weapons from Boogaloo activists following a lockdown protest at the Colorado Capitol.
Colorado Republican Party Chair Brita Horn and House Minority Whip Carlos Barron (R-Fort Lupton) are both featured speakers at Saturday’s event.
The original event flyer posted on social media lists two law enforcement agencies as participating: the Greenwood Village Police Department and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Reached via direct message, 2nd Syndicate founder Alicia Garcia, who also calls herself the “Boomstick Babe,” said she expects both law enforcement agencies to participate, and noted that the host venue, a Greenwood Village gun store called the Damage Factory, could also confirm the law enforcement agency involvement.
An employee at the store said over the phone that both agencies had been invited and claimed they each said they would try to send someone but that if the agencies were busy they might not show.
Garcia did not respond to additional questions asking why she chose the “tactical Hawaiian” dress code and luau theme for an event ostensibly honoring the first responders and victims of 9-11. Garcia herself has accurately noted on her X account that law enforcement officers are permitted to lie to those they stop and warning followers not to trust what police say to them.
Reached via email, a spokesperson for the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office said the agency, including the sheriff, undersheriff and the unit that does special events, wasn’t aware of the event at all until CTR reached out for comment.
Neither Horn nor Barron responded to email requests for comment to confirm their participation and to say whether they had any concerns over speaking at an event with a “tactical Hawaiian” theme, invoking the anti-government “Boogaloo” movement from 2020.
This article will be updated with any additional responses received.
