Donald Trump
Denver Muslim leaders say rock thrown through mosque window in latest hate-related incident
DENVER – Leaders at a Denver mosque say someone threw a rock through its windows Sunday just before one of its prayer sessions in the latest instance of vandalism directed at minority communities over the past several months.
The Colorado Muslim Society says someone threw the rock, which was about the size of a fist, through a window at Masjid Abu Bakr mosque on Sunday.
The Muslim Society says it is “working with the proper authorities” to address the incident.
But the alleged vandalism is one of at least a half-dozen possibly hate-related incidents in Colorado since November.
More threats to at least a dozen Jewish community centers were made again Monday after similar throngs of threats over the past several weeks. The threats also came as at least two Jewish cemeteries – in Philadelphia and St. Louis – were vandalized over the past week, bringing damage to hundreds of headstones.
On Jan. 31, the Boulder Community Jewish Center received an unsubstantiated bomb threat, forcing evacuations.
Days earlier, the FBI joined an investigation into signs left at an Aurora immigrant and refugee center that threatened to “blow up” refugees.
On Feb. 7, the FBI was also called in to help El Paso County Sheriff’s Office investigators work to find out whether or not an Indian family in Peyton, Colo. was the victim of a hate crime. Their home was vandalized with eggs, dog feces, bath tissue, and papers scrawled with messages regarding their racial and ethnic background.
In early January, an 83-year-old Longmont man was pressured by neighbors and the city to take a sign down that read, “Muslim’s kill Muslim’s [sic] if they don’t agree. Where does that leave you, ‘infidel.’”
In November, a Denver transgender woman’s SUV was vandalized with swastikas and transgender hate speech.
Also in January, a self-proclaimed radicalized Muslim shot and killed a security officer working as an RTD guard at Union Station, though officials have not linked that shooting to being a hate crime.
And during the week of Valentine’s Day, Ku Klux Klan members dispersed fliers in at least three Grand Junction neighborhoods urging people to join the group, and to “stop homosexuality & race mixing.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 16 “hate groups” in Colorado that were operating in 2015, including several anti-Muslim and neo-Nazi groups. More on those groups can be found here.
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Hickenlooper: States have ‘sovereignty’ on recreational marijuana issue, a ‘great social experiment’
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper seems to have warmed to the legal recreational marijuana industry in the state, according to comments he made Sunday on NBC’s Meet The Press.
Moderator Chuck Todd asked Hickenlooper, who is in Washington for the 2017 National Governors Association Winter Meeting, on his thoughts about the recreational marijuana industry and how it might be affected by new U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Continue reading
Data: Crackdown on legal marijuana industry would cost thousands of jobs, billions in revenue
DENVER – White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s Thursday statements that the Department of Justice may crack down on states with legal recreational marijuana could lead to far-ranging effects on the burgeoning industry should they hold any water.
A Forbes report based on data from New Frontier Data says that if the legal marijuana market continues to grow unimpeded by the federal government, the industry would create more jobs than the manufacturing industry by 2020. Continue reading
Colorado’s Buck, Beauprez to speak at CPAC panel comparing wall, extreme vetting to heaven
DENVER – Two Colorado politicians will speak this Saturday at a session at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) titled, “If Heaven Has a Gate, A Wall, and Extreme Vetting, Why Can’t America?”
Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado’s Republican CO-4 representative, and former CO-7 Rep. Bob Beauprez, who most recently launched two unsuccessful bids for the governorship, are among five speakers on the panel, which also includes Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, Mike Gonzales of conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, and Helen Krieble of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation, who is also a Coloradan.
The panel is one of hundreds at the annual event, which has been under more of a microscope than usual this year after it originally invited Milo Yiannopolous to speak at the event, then rescinded its invitation to the alt-right blogger after he made comments advocating pederasty.
But the panel Buck and Beauprez will speak on has been jeered on social media for various reasons.
The official CPAC website lists Beauprez, who is the moderator of the panel, not as a former representative, but rather as a current one. It also says he represents Colorado’s 10th Congressional district, which does not exist.
And though Beauprez is Roman Catholic, the Pope even seemingly threw shade at the panel.
Jesus entrusted to Peter the keys to open the entrance to the kingdom of heaven, and not to close it.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) February 22, 2017
“Jesus entrusted Peter the keys to open the entrance to the kingdom of heaven, and not to close it,” Pope Francis tweeted.
Both Buck and Beauprez wrote on their Facebook pages that they would be speaking at the CPAC panel. Beauprez said he was “honored” to have been asked to participate.
Among other panels at CPAC: Facts, Not Feelings: Snowflakes, Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings; and When Did WWIII Begin?
C-SPAN is streaming the conference through the weekend.
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White House compares recreational pot to opioid crisis, says DOJ will be ‘taking action’
WASHINGTON – White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at Thursday’s daily press briefing that he expects the Department of Justice will be “taking action” against states that have legalized recreational marijuana, and at the same time seemingly compared recreational use to the nationwide opioid crisis.
“There’s a big difference between [medical] and recreational marijuana,” Spicer said. “And I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing that we should be doing is encouraging people.” Continue reading
Bill that would have allowed lawsuits against ‘sanctuary city’ officials dies in House committee
DENVER – A bill that would have prohibited the establishment of “sanctuary cities” in Colorado and would have allowed individuals affected by such policies to sue the lawmakers who put the laws in place died in a House committee Wednesday night.
The House State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee killed House Bill 1134 with a 6-3 party-line vote.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dave Williams, R-El Paso County, told Denver7 Tuesday the bill would have forced politicians “to have skin in the game.”
“If they create the sanctuary city, then they would have to be responsible for the backlash and the follow to that,” he said.
The bill would have allowed for victims of a crime committed by an undocumented person to file a civil lawsuit or criminal complaint against the official or officials who created the “sanctuary” status in that jurisdiction.
It would have allowed people to seek up to $700,000 per person in injury compensation, and up to $1.98 million if two or more people were injured.
The bill also would have established the crime of “rendering assistance to an illegal alien through a sanctuary jurisdiction,” which would have been a class 4 felony.
But the bill saw staunch opposition from Democrats and other groups.
Kyle Huelsman, the policy manager for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, called the bill unconstitutional.
“This is one of the most anti-immigrant and xenophobic bills that we’ve seen in the last decade,” Huelsman told Denver7. “Rep. Williams and (co-sponsor) Sen. Vicky Marble have gone to new extremes to push a radical anti-immigrant agenda in the State Capitol.”
Rep. Williams fired back at the Democrats on the committee who killed his bill in a news release.
“Democrats sent a clear message to Coloradans they are unwilling to accept any responsibility for policies that inhibit criminal illegal aliens from being reported to federal immigration authorities,” Williams said in the release. “If elected officials want to create a sanctuary city, they should be held accountable if those policies directly result in known criminals being released rather than deported.”
Boulder is the only city in Colorado that has officially proclaimed itself as a “sanctuary city.”
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Federal judge: DIA must allow emergency 24-hour permits for protests, can’t restrict sign size
DENVER – A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Denver International Airport and the city of Denver must change some of its rules to accommodate protests at the airport, like the one that happened in late January in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration.
Police at DIA drew the ire of many of the protesters, whom were told to leave because they did not have a proper seven-day permit required by the city.
Two of the protesters filed a federal lawsuit in early February saying their civil rights had been violated when they were forced to leave, and that the requirement of the seven-day permit was “ridiculous.”
They sought a preliminary injunction against the seven-day permit rule, calling it “unconstitutional.”
U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge William J. Martinez on Wednesday agreed with parts of their lawsuit, but struck down others.
Judge Martinez ruled that the city and airport will have to issue an “expressive activity permit” sought with 24 hours’ notice if the applicant “seeks a permit for the purpose of communicating topical ideas reasonably relevant to the purposes and mission of the Airport”, so long as the activity could not have been foreseen seven or more days in advance.
This means that protests that come together quickly, as the January one did because of the executive orders, could still receive a permit if they give the airport a day’s notice.
Judge Martinez also ruled that the airport and city must “make all reasonable efforts” to accommodate the requested location of a protest or gathering both inside and outside of the airport’s terminal as long as it’s at a place where “the unticketed public” is normally allowed.
The judge also struck down rules barring picketing inside of the airport’s terminal, as well as a rule that restricted the size of signage used during protests.
However, Judge Martinez ruled that the airport and city will not be required to accommodate a “truly spontaneous” demonstration, though both will be allowed to provide accommodations.
He also ruled that protesters would not be allowed to determine the exact location within the terminal they wish to demonstrate, giving the airport some say as to where the gatherings could be held on airport property.
He also refused to strike down the seven-day permit rules as “unconstitutional,” as the plaintiffs had sought.
This is a developing news story; stay posted to Denver7 for updates.
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Denver Sheriff: Not releasing Mexican national now accused of murder would’ve violated Constitution
DENVER – The Denver Sheriff’s Department says that it would have violated the Fourth Amendment had it held a Mexican citizen now accused of murder without a warrant following an arrest last year.
Ever Valles, 19, was booked into the Denver jail on aggravated auto theft and vehicular eluding charges last October, and was released Dec. 20 after posting a $5,000 bond. Continue reading
Broncos’ Brandon Marshall honored with inaugural Harvard social justice award
DENVER – Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall will be honored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education for his social justice work over the past year.
Marshall will receive the school’s inaugural 2017 Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) Courage Award at a ceremony to be held March 3-4, according to a news release Marshall posted to Twitter Monday.
The school says the award “is given to an individual demonstrating outstanding commitment to the principles of justice, equity, and inclusion.”
Honored to be recognized by Harvard’s Graduate School for taking a stance against social injustice this past year. 1 Corinthians 15:58 pic.twitter.com/WPcdcf7J8V
— Brandon Marshall (@BMarshh54) February 21, 2017
Its winner is picked by the AOCC chairs. The university says the award “reflects the principles of the conference, including depth of character, extraordinary leadership, and engaged activism.”
Marshall drew the praise and ire of many across the country early last season when he started taking a knee in solidarity with former college teammate Colin Kaepernick during the playing of the National Anthem.
He lost several endorsement deals for his stance, which he said was to protest questionable police shootings across the country over the past several years.
But he did not simply make a statement. Marshall met with Denver Police Chief Robert White days after he first took a knee. The two talked extensively about social justice issues and police reform, and Marshall agreed to attend a DPD “shoot or don’t shoot” course and to go on a ride-along with officers.
He eventually stopped kneeling during the National Anthem after the department revised its use-of-force policy.
Marshall also participated in several Denver-area initiatives aimed at supporting students, women and domestic violence victims.
“In addition to his work with reform efforts in Denver, Brandon has also remained active championing the rights of women and is an advocate for survivors of domestic violence,” the press release from the Harvard Graduate School of Education said.
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Colorado’s senators split votes on controversial EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, who is confirmed
WASHINGTON – Colorado’s U.S. senators split their votes on the president’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, who was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-46 vote.
Pruitt, who has been Oklahoma’s attorney general since he was elected in 2010, has faced scrutiny over his ties to the oil and gas industry and has filed 14 lawsuits against the EPA over water and air pollution regulations over his career. Continue reading