Boulder County’s indoor mask requirement ends today, except on the University of Colorado campus, where earlier this week the CU Boulder Public Health Office announced it would continue the campus mask requirement despite the county’s decision. This prompted CU Regent and gubernatorial hopeful Heidi Ganahl to call on her own institution to “drop the mandates.”
The well-known divide between the establishment and far-right factions of the Colorado House Republican caucus now has official documentation.
Yesterday afternoon a jet used by election conspiracist Mike Lindell, who’s the CEO of MyPillow, Inc., departed Minnesota en route to Centennial, Colorado. Flight records indicate it diverted to Grand Junction instead. Less than 30 minutes later, it left Mesa County, headed back to Minnesota with a brief 20-minute stop at Centennial Airport.
“Patrick, please quit this! I want you to quit it, I want you to win! People showed up on January 6th because they were lied to! Donald Trump lied to them. The people around Donald Trump told lies.”
Speaking to a group of fellow election conspiracists last week, Colorado state legislator Ron Hanks (R-Canon City) implied that party officials won’t conduct a fair straw poll following this evening’s U.S. Senate primary debate. Hanks mocked his state party’s decision to hold a straw poll following its Jan. 25, 2022, debate but not announce the results until the following morning. His implication to a group of fellow election conspiracists was that the party would prevent him from winning even if he receives the most votes.
The leader of a Colorado-based militia says some businesses impacted by the Marshall Fire are paying his members to provide security at their locations. John Tiegen leads the United American Defense Force (UADF), the militia division of far-right conspiracist group FEC United.
“And you know, the poll watchers, we’re going to train them to be more aggressive. There’s no more of this, ‘Sit in the corner and don’t touch anything and don’t talk to anybody.’ We’re going to be bulldogs from here forward.”
Last night, on the first anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol, Colorado state Rep. Ron Hanks, who hopes to work as a senator in that building next year, listed the Republican candidates seated next to him who also participated in the insurrection. He did this to impress prominent conspiracist and Trump ally Mike Lindell, the featured speaker of the evening’s election fraud conspiracy Zoom meeting hosted by Sherronna Bishop, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s former campaign manager, which Hanks and other 2022 GOP candidates had joined.
A year after the nation survived its first-ever insurrection, federal law enforcement has so far arrested twelve Coloradans for their participation. While prosecutors are focusing on bringing charges against the most serious offenders, such as those suspects who assaulted police, vandalized federal property, and entered the House itself, it’s worth keeping in mind that the sheer size of the march overwhelmed the Capitol Police who simply didn’t have the numbers to prevent the crowd from surrounding the building. Those protestors who walked past police barriers, but stopped short of entering the Capitol may not have committed as serious crimes as those who broke in, but their presence allowed more aggressive marchers to act with impunity.
Far-right conspiracist group FEC United and its militia division, the United American Defense Force (UADF), are seeking assistance (cash, food, clothes, housing, and more) for victims of the Marshall Fire and taking applications from victims to receive help, if the victims upload copies of their “driver’s license and a bank statement or bill” to FEC’s website.
