It is time, once again, for Colorado Times Recorder’s weekly recap on Colorado stories about extremism. First up, we have an opinion piece from Logan Davis that highlights the ways that Christian Nationalists in Colorado have been emboldened by Trump’s electoral victory. Also on the docket this week is reporting from Jason Salzman on newly elected Colorado DA George Brauchler’s admission that he plans to ‘find a way’ to sidestep Colorado law to enforce deportation policies — and a roundup by Owen Swallow looking at which candidates who denied the results of the 2020 election were successful in their electoral endeavors (It’s most of them.). We’ve also decided to feature an article by Colorado Community Media’s Ellis Arnold on the state Labor Department finding that the Douglas County Sheriff and Commissioners engaged in unlawful and unfair labor practices in their efforts to avoid unionization.
Douglas County
The Groups Protesting DougCo Pride Fest
This Saturday’s Douglas County Pride Fest was protested by a number of different groups — Able Shepherd, a nonprofit that provides mass shooter training to churches and schools, Patriot Front, the white nationalist group arrested en masse for conspiracy to riot in Idaho last year, the Rocky Mountain Active Club, the local chapter of the white supremacist fight club started by Robert Rundo, and the Proud Boys.
Hate Cake Provocateur Enters Race for Castle Rock State Rep.
Bill Jack, a Christian educator from Castle Rock, has announced his candidacy for the Colorado General Assembly, having been recruited by the current incumbent of his prospective seat.
How Did Partisans Influence Non-partisan School Board Races?
Tuesday’s election results from across Colorado highlighted nationwide trends of increased partisan involvement in local races for school board seats, the latest battleground in the culture wars playing out in school board meetings and public debate around district policies and curriculum.
Militia-Linked Group Calls Members to Douglas County School Board Meeting Over Mask Mandates
On Tuesday afternoon, a leading far-right advocacy group with a militia arm in Colorado issued an “urgent” call to action to its members to flood a school board meeting in Douglas County to oppose mask mandates.
Founder of CO Militia Group: “If You Want To Take Our Country, It Will Have To Be With Violence.”
Flanked by members of his militia, conspiracy theorist Joe Oltmann spoke at Tuesday’s “Free DougCo” rally, saying he’s not advocating for violence, but that if someone tries to take his country or his “way of life,” blood will be “spilled.”
Douglas County Republicans Share Fake News, Delete Comments Identifying Error
UPDATE: The party has deleted the post from its Facebook page.
County commissioner assumes young women at Republican breakfast must be “trackers”
Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas took to Facebook last week with an accusation that two young women whom she spotted at a Republican breakfast in Castle Rock, Colorado, must be “trackers” for the Democratic Party.