West
State lifts 'political' clothing ban after radio host kicked out of Capitol gallery out over pro-life shirt
The Colorado State Capitol has revoked a ban on political apparel in its legislative galleries nearly a year and a half after a Denver radio host got kicked out of the Senate gallery for wearing a pro-life sweatshirt.
“It was a total win for free speech,” Jeff Hunt told Fox News Digital. “You’re free, and it’s a better state because of it.”
Officials removed language about the ban from its website and signs inside the Capitol, according to the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which sent a letter to the state last month warning that its ban violated the First Amendment and appeared to only be enforced against some political ideas.
The shirt strife started on March 21, 2023, when Hunt went to the Capitol to support pregnancy resource centers during a hearing on a package of abortion-rights bills that would regulate such centers. He wore a pullover with the words “Pro-Life U” over “Colorado Christian University,” where he previously worked. The school claimed to be the most pro-life university in the country, inspiring Hunt to make the shirt.
Jeff Hunt was booted from the Colorado Senate gallery in March 2023 over this sweatshirt. The words “Pro-Life U” reference Colorado Christian University’s self-proclaimed status as the most pro-life college in the country, Hunt said. (Courtesy of JeffreyGrounds Photography)
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Hunt sat down in the Senate gallery, but after a matter of “seconds,” he said a sergeant at arms approached and led him out to the hallway where a sign was posted informing visitors that pins or apparel “expressing political statements” were prohibited in the gallery.
“Pro-life. That’s a political statement,” the sergeant at arms can be heard saying in a short video clip Hunt recorded outside the gallery.
Hunt tried to explain that his shirt was a reference to a college, not an overt political statement, but was told he could either turn the sweatshirt inside out or remain outside the gallery, he said. Hunt waited outside.
“The purpose of the policy is to avoid conflict between opposing sides on any particular issue,” Secretary of the Senate Cindi Markwell told the local outlet Westword in March 2023.
But FIRE, which takes on free speech battles across the country, heard about the clothing controversy and, in a July 16 letter, demanded Capitol officials stop playing fashion police.
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FIRE argued that the ban was overly broad and didn’t clearly define what constitutes a “political” statement. Hunt wondered whether a rainbow shirt or a shirt saying “Stand with the troops” would also be banned.
The ban also appeared to be selectively enforced, according to FIRE’s letter. Just two weeks before Hunt was led out of the Senate gallery, at least a thousand students calling for stronger gun control laws marched to the state capitol, local media reported. Many wore red shirts reading “Angels against gun violence” as they stood in the House and Senate galleries watching lawmakers work.
“Enforcing a rule differently because of a speaker’s message is repugnant to the Constitution,” FIRE attorneys wrote.
Markwell defended the disparity by pointing out that the students were protesting for increased gun control on a day when no gun bills were on the docket.
“We believe that to protect its process and the senators that the Senate is authorized to limit expression of support or opposition on matters it is debating,” she told Westword in 2023.
Students and teachers filled the Colorado State Capitol at least three times during March 2023 to protest gun violence in schools. This photo is from March 24, 2023, three days after Hunt was asked to leave the Senate gallery for wearing a “Pro-Life U” sweatshirt. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
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But that distinction didn’t appear anywhere in the written rules or on signage outside the galleries, according to FIRE.
“‘You only have free speech on days we allow you to have free speech,’” Hunt said of Markwell’s explanation. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
The Colorado House and Senate “have rescinded the rule banning ‘pins and apparel expressing political statements’” in the galleries, Markwell confirmed to Fox News Digital, though she did not elaborate on why the rule was changed. A photo published Wednesday in Westword showed the ban scratched off of a sign posted outside the gallery.
“At this point now in Colorado, you don’t have to check the calendar,” Hunt said. “You don’t have to see what day it is. Your free speech rights to wear the clothing you want to are protected at all times at the Colorado State Capitol.”
Hunt emphasized that, even though he’s a “Bible-believing Evangelical,” his win applies to those whose political opinions he disagrees with, too.
“I’ve defended the rights of people that support abortion to wear their shirts reflecting their political values down at the state Capitol as well,” he said. “I strongly believe in Second Amendment rights. And if you believe that we need to restrict those rights to prevent gun violence, you can now wear your shirt down to the Colorado State Capitol. This is a win for all Coloradans.”
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San Francisco, CA
Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the first time since the attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard, one of the suspects was in court on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed charges against the man. Those charges include:
- Resisting an executive officer
- Assault with force to cause bodily injury
- Willful disobedience of a court order
- Unlawful lodging at the same location from a previous citation
Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident won’t deter him from walking the streets of the city doing what he was doing moments before his bodyguard was attacked last week.
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Multiple angles covered a dramatic altercation between one of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail and individuals on the street.
“I think I need to be able to see it myself and not just stay cloistered up and not be out of the streets. I walked the streets this morning and had some great interactions and was able to help some people,” said Mayor Lurie.
We obtained the detention motion, which revealed specific details about the incident.
The document said Mayor Lurie was riding in a car northbound on Larking Street with two of his security detail. The mayor asked the driver to stop and got out of the car with one of the officers to approach four people who were blocking the road; “two were sitting on the sidewalk… one was actually sitting in the street.” The document says one of the individuals “was aggressive” and “stepped towards the mayor,” after he asked them to move out of the road a few times. This led the bodyguard to position himself between the mayor and the individual. The document states the individual “got very close” to the officer and threatened him and said, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your a**!”
The officer, according to the document, proceeded to shove the individual away from him “with both hands to defend himself and to create distance,” causing the individual to fall backwards on the sidewalk.
The individual quickly stood up and “rushed at the officer.”
Multiple people in the area captured the altercation on video.
We asked the mayor if he would do anything different in the future.
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“I’m not going to stop doing it. I will consult with our detail and our chief and make sure we can do this safely,” said Mayor Lurie.
San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he is glad the mayor sees the crisis on the streets up close.
“A lot of people will cross the street to get away from it hide from it. We don’t want our city hiding from this problem,” said Supervisor Mandelman.
Kevin Benedicto, vice president of the San Francisco police commission, said they will be looking into the incident.
“A number of commissioners are going to want to ask the chief about updates about the incident just to make sure we have all the policies and procedures in place,” said Benedicto.
The Individual who attacked the mayor’s bodyguard has been charged in the past for criminal threats in 2019 and 2020.
One of the arraignments is set for Wednesday at 9 a.m.
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Like sand through the hourglass, so too go the dumplings of the Denver Post’s annual food bracket.
Our competition started with 32 restaurants chosen by editors and readers specializing in dumplings and momos, a Tibetan and Nepali variation, in the Denver area. Two weeks later, only eight restaurants remain.
The next round of matchups in our Elite 8 competition to be decided by reader votes are:
Rocky Mountain Momo (9678 E. Arapahoe Road, Englewood) vs. ChoLon (multiple locations)
LingLon Dumpling House (2456 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver) vs. Star Kitchen (2917 W. Mississippi Ave., Denver)
Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings (multiple locations) vs. Dillon’s Dumpling House (3571 S. Tower Road, Unit G, Aurora)
Hop Alley (3500 Larimer St., Denver) vs. Momo Dumplings (caterer; momo-dumplings.com)
The most recent matchups recorded more than 460 entries. Our most popular head-to-head was Rocky Mountain Momo facing off against Yuan Wonton. Rocky Mountain Momo advances with 55% of 260 votes.
MAKfam, a Chinese restaurant with a Michelin nod for its value, faced a tough first-round opponent, The Empress Seafood, and scraped out a win. But this time, it wasn’t as lucky, losing to ChoLon, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant with multiple locations, by only five votes.
Make your picks below for who should advance to the next round. The online voting form will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.
Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.
SEATTLE — Ryan Ufko scored his first NHL goal with 5:35 to play in the second period to put the Nashville Predators ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
The rookie skated in from the right of the goal, dodged between two defenders, and tucked the puck past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord to give the Predators a 3-2 lead and two critical points in their chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Right now, the team is on the outside of the playoff picture.
Tyson Jost and Reid Schaefer also scored second-period goals to erase Seattle’s 2-0 first-period lead, and Steve Stamkos added an empty-netter for his 31st goal of the season.
Jonathan Marchessault had a pair of assists for Nashville, which had lost four of its previous five, and Juuse Saros made 43 saves.
Kaapo Kakko scored just 2:14 into the game, and Matty Beniers scored at 9:46 of the first period to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Beniers scored from a tough angle, firing from the bottom of the right circle and over the shoulder of Saros just inside the far post.
Daccord finished with 23 saves.
Seattle’s Shane Wright scored a goal in the second, but it was waved off because of goalie interference when Ryker Evans slid into Saros and took out his feet.
The Kraken were without left wing Jaden Schwartz, who was hit in the face by a skate during Seattle’s 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.
Kraken, clinging to a wild-card slot, have now lost five of their last seven games.
Up next
Predators: Visit Vancouver on Thursday night.
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