For the second time this summer, a local Republican activist, campaign worker and former candidate has been arrested and charged with multiple child sex felonies. Last week agents with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation arrested Gage Montoya, of Trinidad, on multiple child pornography and weapons charges. This happened about three months after Weld GOP Chair Hunter Rivera’s arrest in May for attempted sexual assault on a child and three other related felonies.
Montoya worked as a corrections officer for the state Department of Corrections, but he also worked in Republican politics, both as a candidate and on at least one campaign.
Montoya ran unsuccessfully for Las Animas County Sheriff, terminating his bid for the GOP nomination several months before this year’s June primary. He bowed out despite having raised over $9,200 in donations — over 30 times more than either the other Republican or the incumbent Democrat.
Montoya’s major contributors included House Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter, who, along with his wife, gave the campaign $1,000. Less than two weeks later, Winter paid Montoya $125 for an unspecified event expense related to Winter’s own reelection campaign.
Montoya also received a contribution from longtime GOP consultant Marge Klein, whose firm, SWS Polifi, was working for his campaign. Klein’s company ultimately received nearly all of the money donated to Montoya’s bid for sheriff.
Following Montoya’s arrest, Winter posted a statement on his campaign’s Facebook page:
“These allegations are sickening, vile, and deeply disturbing,” wrote Winter. “My heart breaks for the victims, and I am praying for every child and family impacted by this case.
“I stand with the law enforcement officers and investigators working to protect children from predators and bring those responsible to justice. I am grateful for their dedication and the critical work they do to keep our communities safe.”
Photos from both Montoya and Winter’s Facebook pages show the two men have known each other for many years. Montoya’s own photos include several of them together during Winter’s first statehouse campaign in 2022, including Montoya’s election day photo of the two of them with the caption “We came a long way. Congratulations Representative Ty Winter. Winter has arrived.”
Other photos captioned “AFK – Colorado” show both men waving flags on a highway overpass in 2017 and marching in a Labor Day Parade alongside a Jeep decorated with an American Freedom Keepers banner.
Back then Winter used the online nickname “Ty Freedom,” as a leader of the Colorado chapter of American Freedom Keepers, a right-wing group that was militia-adjacent. Membership required an application and vetting before applicants earned “Active Duty” status. The Colorado Times Recorder has previously reported extensively on Winter’s far-right activities prior to being elected to public office.
Members of both AFK and its “sibling group American Warrior Revolution, participated in the deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right protests in 2017, though there is no evidence that Winter attended. Winter has previously denied any affiliation with the groups in response to CTR questions.
According to former Colorado GOP Vice Chair Darrel Lee Phelan, Montoya was well-known in Republican circles. Phelan, who endorsed Montoya while serving as the state party’s second-in-command, also issued a statement following the arrest, noting that our country’s justice system presumes innocence until one is proven guilty.
“As a former Vice Chair of the Colorado Republican Party and former Chairman of the Las Animas County Republican Party, I am aware of the allegations and charges involving Gage Montoya.
Gage has been involved with Republican politics in Las Animas County and across Colorado, and many of us have known him through political, community, and party activities. That familiarity, however, neither excuses wrongdoing nor justifies abandoning one of the most fundamental principles of our justice system: a person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Any allegation involving the safety or welfare of a child is extremely serious and must be investigated thoroughly. Children must be protected, the facts must be established, and if criminal wrongdoing is proven, the law should be applied fully and appropriately.
But an arrest is not a conviction.
I have watched politics become increasingly comfortable with declaring people guilty through Facebook posts, rumors, political agendas, and public speculation before the evidence has ever been presented in a courtroom. That is not justice, and it should concern every American regardless of political affiliation.
I do not presently have access to all of the evidence or facts surrounding this case, and I will not pretend otherwise. Neither should anyone else who does not possess those facts.
This matter now belongs with law enforcement, the courts, the attorneys involved, and ultimately a judge or jury—not the court of social media.
If the evidence establishes guilt, then there must be accountability. If the evidence does not establish guilt, then the presumption of innocence must mean something.
Due process cannot be a principle we defend only when it is politically convenient or when the accused happens to be someone we like. It either applies to everyone, or it means nothing.
For now, I will allow the legal process to work and will not participate in speculation about the allegations or their ultimate outcome.”
Rep. Winter did not respond to an email inquiry as to the scope of Montoya’s work for his campaign and the length and nature of their relationship. An email attempt to reach Montoya was not returned. This article will be updated with any responses received.
