DENVER — Colorado’s House Republicans issued a letter Monday admonishing their Democratic colleagues for criticizing Capitol security staff who carried a teenage protester out of the House’s gallery last week.
“You, the Speaker of the House, along with the Majority Leader, gave public statements to the media admonishing the actions of our Sergeants and State Patrol, and the Majority Leader implied their actions were driven by racism,” the House’s 19 Republican members wrote in a letter addressed to Democrat leaders Speaker Julie McCluskie and Majority Leader Monica Duran. “We find these statements and actions by colleagues and House leadership inaccurate and unacceptable.”
The letter comes five days after security personnel in the Capitol carried a teenager out of the House gallery because he wouldn’t move out of their way as they attempted to remove another teenager who was shouting about gun reform. Colorado State Patrol troopers, who oversee security in the Capitol, were called to the gallery Wednesday amid a broader student-led protest in and around the building. The student who was carried from the gallery was seated between security and the shouting teenager, videos show, and did not move when asked by troopers.
