Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

CO

By Brandon Rincon

Colorado Springs residents demand "Fire Office Wallick now!"

Colorado Springs, CO – On November 22 the Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (COSAARPR) joined together with the family of Alex Martinez-Sarmiento. They gathered outside the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colorado Springs to rally for the 26-year-old father who was shot and killed by police earlier in the year.

The family and COSAARPR demanded that District Attorney Michael Allen meet with the victim's family and move to indict killer cop Connor Jacob Wallick.

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By Jessie Proffitt

Colorado Springs Starbucks workers strike.

Colorado Springs, CO – On November 13, workers from the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) rallied with their allies at a unionized Starbucks store in Colorado Springs to begin their “Red Cup Rebellion, ” strike against unfair labor practice. SBWU called this strike after Starbucks refused to finalize a union contract earlier in the year that would address worker demands for higher pay, better staffing, and address hundreds of unfair labor practice charges.

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By Jessie Proffitt

Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression \[COSAARPR\] wins fight for free speech.

Colorado Springs, CO – On November 13, the Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (COSAARPR) will meet at Fire Station 8 for the first time since being denied the public meeting space in September for political reasons.

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By Genevieve Richard

Starbuck workers hold practice picket, preparing for the upcoming strike.

Colorado Springs, CO – On October 29, organizers with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) gathered at a unionized Starbucks store in Colorado Springs to hold a practice picket in preparation to strike. Members of the Colorado Springs Labor Council, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Democratic Socialists of America joined the practice picket.

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By staff

SDS letter writing campaign demands administration not cooperate with ICE

Denver, CO – On October 15, Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) hosted multiple letter-writing events, encouraging students to write letters to demand that Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) protect students from the ongoing threat of ICE on their campus.

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By Bailey Heaton

No Kings march in Denver, Colorado.

Denver, CO – On the afternoon of October 18, an estimated 50,000 people rallied at the Colorado State Capitol to protest the Trump administration’s continued attacks on human rights.

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By staff

Denver, CO – In the evening of October 7, 40 people gathered at the front door of the Tabor Center in downtown Denver to commemorate two years of the U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza. The event, organized by Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), was a reminder of everything Palestinians have suffered both before and since October 7.

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By Genevieve Richard

Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression  press conference after the city government moved to block the group's access to a public meeting space.

Colorado Springs, CO – On October 11, the Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (COSAARPR) gathered at local Fire Station 8 to protest the cancellation of a booking of the community meeting space by the fire chief of Colorado Springs, in conjunction with the city attorney’s office.

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By Tristen Hust

Colorado protest demands prosecution of killer cops.

Westminster, CO – On Saturday, October 11, members of the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) gathered in the neighborhood of 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason to speak against his recent decision to not prosecute the cops responsible for the death of Kory Dillard last year. The group also spoke about two separate cases that the district attorney’s office is overseeing.

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By Tristen McFarland

Aurora, Colorado candlelight vigil on the one-year anniversary of the police killing of Kory Dillard.

Aurora, CO – On Friday, October 3, family, friends and members of the community gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember the life of Kory Dillard one year after his death. The vigil took place where Dillard was killed by officers Kevin Rodier and Ryan Shamblin of the Aurora Police Department.

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By staff

Denver marks two years of resistance to genocide.

Denver, CO — On October 4, 400 protesters rallied outside of the Colorado State Capitol to commemorate two years since 2023’s Operation al-Aqsa Flood. Protesters demanded a stop to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Tom Chaney of Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke at the event, “Israel hasn’t forgiven the Palestinians for opposing their occupation and has been working tirelessly to discredit and violently attack the Palestinian resistance. This is why it is more important than ever to stand with our Palestinian friends and fight for an end to U.S. aid to Israel!”

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By Tristen McFarland

Press conference and rally demands justice for Kory Dillard.

Aurora, CO – On Friday, October 3, the family of Kory Dillard and representatives of Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) met with the 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason. The day marked one year since the death of Dillard at the hands of Kevin Rodier and Ryan Shamblin of the Aurora Police Department, and the group specifically sought to know if the district attorney had any plans to prosecute them criminally.

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By Miles Thompson

People pack City Council meeting demanding answers about the death of Jax Gratton.

Lakewood, CO – The Lakewood city council meeting was packed full of community members on September 8. “There are people here from all across the state, people who canceled their plans, and traveled long distances to be here tonight,” said Jamie Frederick while addressing the city council members, “Trans people deserve to feel safe, feel heard.”

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By staff

Denver protest against ICE mass deportations.

Denver, CO – On September 20, over 30 people gathered to picket outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Denver Field Office in response to the recent wave of summons issued by ICE. Over the past month, hundreds of immigrants across the community have received letters ordering them to appear for check-ins at this facility.

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By Bailey Heaton

A crowd of over 100 people marches in the streets of Denver carrying Mexican and Palestine flags, led by a vehicle and a protest MC.

Denver, CO – On the evening of August 29, over 100 people rallied in front of the Colorado State Capitol building for the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium.

Chants like “When Chicanos are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “¡Se ve, se siente! ¡El pueblo esta presente!” could be heard as the crowd marched downtown to the federal immigration court building.

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By staff

A large crowd marches down the streets of Denver holding signs that say, "Do Not Obey in Advance."

Denver, CO – On Monday, September 1, over 1000 protesters assembled at the Colorado State Capitol for a Labor Day march. The march was part of nationwide mobilization entitled “Workers over Billionaires!” and was organized by a broad coalition of organizations including the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Denver Anti-War Action, Colorado Education Association, and Colorado 50501.

The program began with speeches from several labor organizers on the power of organizing.

“In 2023, we launched the biggest contract campaign in decades,” said Katherine Draken, a rank-and-file UPS Teamster and member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, “And we won! We were ready to go on strike and UPS knew it. We got rid of the two-tier system, and we got the biggest wage increase ever!”

After the speeches, the 1000-plus crowd took to the streets and marched to the Denver Federal Immigration Court, where ICE has been kidnapping immigrants who show up for court check-ins. Along the march, the crowd chanted “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” and “When immigrant rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Then, the crowd marched back to the capitol building and heard speeches from more organizers.

The crowd then took the streets for a second march, this time to the mansion of Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Polis, a Democrat, has faced criticism for not standing up against the Trump administration. In one example, he even had Colorado law enforcement agencies collaborate with ICE, in violation of a state law against such collaboration.

“Governor Polis's administration betrayed its commitment to the immigrant community by pressuring officials to unlawfully share private data with ICE. This action undermines state privacy laws and erodes trust in public institutions meant to serve and protect all residents. We can't allow our community to be attacked by those in power, the community must fight back and take back power!” said Brandon Gehrke of Aurora Unidos CSO.

#DenverCO #CO #Labor #ImmigrantRights #Trump #NoKings #LaborDay #DAWC #CEA #50501 #CSO

By Salem Chadwick

Public school workers are fighting for union recognition in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora, CO – On August 19, Aurora Public School (APS) workers packed into their school's offices to demand the school board put an end to union busting and give all workers the right to organize a union.

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By Sarina E. Ouellette

Aurora, CO – On August 16, the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) and community supporters gathered at Firehouse Station 2 for an all-ages community fair. The event called “FUNd the Fight,” raised funds for the Dillard family, who has been facing financial hardship while simultaneously fighting for justice for Kory Dillard.

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By staff

Protesters marching in the street holding flags and a banner.

Denver, CO – On July 26, Coloradans gathered outside Denver’s Union Station in a rally against software development company Palantir, which is complicit with apartheid Israel.

Palantir develops artificial intelligence used both by ICE to facilitate mass arrests and deportations and by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with programs like “Lavender” and “Where’s Daddy” used to target and slaughter innocent Palestinian civilians and families by identifying targets, tracking them back to their homes, and deploying bombs.

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By staff

A classroom full of people listening to a person speaking.

Colorado Springs, CO – On July 21, the Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression rallied community forces to support the family of Alex Martinez and confront the city’s Law Enforcement Transparency and Advisory Commission after the release of police body-cam footage. A crowd of about 20 community members joined the sister and mother-in-law of Alex Martinez. Many community members and organizers gave public comment demanding accountability, transparency and an independent investigation into the police shooting of Alex Martinez.

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