Justice
First Thanksgiving key to America’s story — but what happened 4 months later mattered more
A version of this article originally appeared in The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving in New England. Remembered and retold as an allegory for perseverance and cooperation, the story of that first Thanksgiving has become an important part of how Americans think about the […]
Jury finds McMichaels, Bryan guilty of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder
This story originally appeared in the Georgia Recorder. A nearly all-white jury in a Glynn County, Georgia, courtroom Wednesday afternoon convicted three white men of murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery as the 25-year-old Black jogger ran through their neighborhood in February 2020. Travis McMichael, seen all over the world in a viral video […]
Senate committee’s advancement of Amache bill earns nod from Rep. Buck
Republican Rep. Ken Buck, of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, said he “applauds” the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee for passing the Amache National Historic Site bill. “The Amache National Historic Site Act recognizes the awful injustices committed against Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps, while preserving the site for the citizens of […]
Aurora leaders, community members call for an end to youth gun violence
Following the shootings of nine Aurora high school students in two incidents that took place within a single week, state Sen. Rhonda Fields brought local leaders and community members to the Dayton Street Opportunity Center to talk public safety. Close to 100 people packed into the space. “My soul is heavy. And it’s weary,” said […]
Proposed Colorado laws address intersection of mental illness, crime
Next year, Colorado lawmakers will consider several bills that would change how the criminal justice system treats mentally ill people. The General Assembly’s Legislative Council — a panel of top Democrats and Republicans in the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives — approved five bills proposed by a committee tasked with studying the treatment of people […]
Tina Peters appears with militia supporters in video call that included endorsement of violence
Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk who is under criminal investigation for her alleged involvement in a security breach of election systems in her own office, appeared on a video call last week with supporters of the Three Percenter militia. The video was posted Thursday on the America’s Mom Facebook page, which is operated by […]
Colorado lawmaker seeks 2020 election ‘audit’ in lawsuit against Griswold
Ron Hanks, a state lawmaker and a leading Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is suing Secretary of State Jena Griswold as part of an effort to undertake a third-party “audit” of the 2020 election in Colorado. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the state district court in Denver and is before Judge Christopher Baumann. The […]
Aurora agrees to pay $15M in settlement with Elijah McClain’s parents
A settlement agreement reached this week between the parents of Elijah McClain and the city of Aurora totals $15 million, making it one of the largest police-related settlements in Colorado history. McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, died in August of 2019 following his violent arrest by Aurora Police Department officers and Aurora Fire paramedics. “No […]
Immigrants make last-ditch plea for deportation protections, work permits in Build Back Better
WASHINGTON — Undocumented workers and immigration advocates are pushing for Democrats to keep work permits and protections from deportations in the final version of the $1.85 trillion social spending and climate package that the U.S. House is set to vote on as soon as Thursday night. Those immigration provisions face elimination when the bill moves […]
Aurora reaches agreement with Colorado AG to improve policing practices
The City of Aurora’s police and fire departments are expected to enter into an agreement with the state attorney general’s office to change a wide range of policies and practices as part of ongoing work to improve the departments’ culture. The consent decree, unveiled Tuesday and agreed to in principle, directs the departments to change […]
‘We have a voice’: Biden administration hosts first Tribal Nations Summit since 2016
This story first appeared in the Arizona Mirror. State, federal and tribal leaders came together during the White House Tribal Nations Summit on Monday to talk about commitments towards Indian Country and highlight the importance of the nation-to-nation relationship between tribal nations and the U.S. government. “The White House sits on the ancestral homelands of the […]
House Dems ask why federal judges hired law clerk alleged to have sent racist text
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee are urging the chief justice of the Supreme Court to investigate decisions by federal judges in Georgia and Alabama to hire a law clerk who allegedly has “a history of nakedly racist and hateful conduct.” The letter says the Democrats have “grave concern” about the […]