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.”

For the better part of the last few months, community members from all parts of the Denver metro area have been continually flooding the bimonthly city council sessions in support of Jax Gratton, a transgender woman who went missing in April of this year under mysterious circumstances, and whose body was found nearly two months later on June 6.

Much about Gratton’s death remains unsolved, from the events that led up to her tragic disappearance to the discovery of her body two months later. The delay means a forensic autopsy is unable to provide crucial details that would, at the very least, provide some closure. The public outcry emanating throughout the city council meetings stems from the lack of concern by the Lakewood city council members, as well as the dismissive manner in which the Lakewood police handled the investigation.

Many believe that, due to Jax Gratton being a trans woman, the Lakewood Police Department did not investigate her disappearance with the same level of urgency as they would have for others.

Family members of Gratton feel that the police dragged their feet and were not fully transparent about the facts of the case. As time goes on, and key questions about Gratton’s death continue to go unanswered, members of the LGBTQ community fear the current rise of transphobia and transphobic violence will not be prioritized by police departments. Kai Martinez, a trans teenager who has been a regular, vocal attendee at these meetings, stated, “I eventually found out what happened to Jax after Jax had been missing for months, and that made me physically scared to leave the house.”

At a past meeting on August 25, Amanda Phillips, reading a letter on behalf of Jax’s mother Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, said, “We need oversight. We need oversight for Jax, we need oversight for trans people. I did not choose to become an advocate, I chose to become a parent.”

Gratton-Camis, though not a resident of Colorado, has been thrust from the role of grieving mother to leading voice for police reform in the state. Gratton’s supporters are demanding independent oversight of the Lakewood police. Their vision of oversight includes the ability for the committee to be independent of law enforcement influence, have actual power to investigate the police, and have unrestricted access to internal documents and records. This committee would, in their view, have placed meaningful pressure on Lakewood PD from the moment the initial missing person’s report was filed to ensure transparency in their investigation.

Gratton-Camis believes that, had the investigation been handled with more care, Jax could have been found sooner, and the police could have had a clearer idea of what happened to her on the night of her disappearance.

Fortunately for the community, their demands did not go unheard, as the Lakewood city council voted unanimously to draft policy in favor of the oversight committee. With the policy being in the very early stages of development, it is not known how many demands will make it into legislation, but it signifies a positive shift in the fight for trans rights and raises the possibility of police oversight.

#LakewoodCO #CO #LGBTQ #Trans

Lakewood, CO – Around 10 a.m., August 26, Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA) rallied outside Representative Brittany Pettersen’s Lakewood District office on Wadsworth. Around 35 protesters showed up from various Colorado Palestine Coalition organizations in a continuation of DAWA's fight against Israel’s genocide, Lockheed Martin and war profiteering politicians.

Pettersen, the U.S. representative from Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, is beyond complicit in the Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. Indeed, she actively profits from and endorses it.

Protesters made the short walk over to her office from Belmar Park, holding banners, signs and giant checks representing the total of $149,933 Pettersen accepted from Lockheed Martin and AIPAC. They shouted chants such as “Shame, shame war profiteer, you are not welcome here” and “Brittany, Brittany, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?” These chants emphasize Pettersen’s pro-genocide actions, such as the letter to President Biden she signed that supported increased funding for the Israeli military and opposed a ceasefire, claiming “de-escalation would be a victory for the terrorists.” 

Once the group arrived at the office, the office building’s management threatened the protesters with the police, claiming the parking lot was private property. Undeterred, the protesters moved to the sidewalk, where the hundreds of passing cars could see and hear the clear message that Coloradans reject Pettersen’s war profiteering and support of genocide. As the crowd chanted and listened to speeches, drivers honked their horns in support of the protest.

A speaker from DAWA, Emily Schlichter, spoke about the contradictions in Pettersen’s platform. While she acts to improve water infrastructure in Colorado, she ignores the Israeli destruction of water infrastructure in Palestine. While she takes pride in investing in mental health services, she looks the other way from the devastating mental health impact of the genocide on Gaza’s population. And while she champions democracy, she does “not listen to the crystal-clear will of [her] constituents for an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo.”

After the speeches, the protesters continued to chant before returning to the park. Later, around 1:00 p.m., DAWA dropped a banner that read “Brittany Pettersen is a war profiteer!” from the Lakewood-Wadsworth light rail station bridge. Only a couple of miles from Pettersen’s office, the banner informed constituents who drove by of Pettersen’s acceptance of blood-soaked checks from AIPAC and Lockheed Martin.

DAWA will continue to challenge Pettersen, holding her accountable for endorsement of the ongoing genocide. There will be no rest for war criminals in Colorado.

#LakewoodCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #DAWA

Lakewood, CO – On Oct. 11, at Red Rocks Community College here, students and faculty members gathered to hold a vigil for Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman who was killed by white supremacists in August. Speakers included Denver SDS members Jarrid Carroll-Frey, Amber Hott, as well as a musical tribute from Ralph Mallet.

The speakers met at 4 p.m. in a reserved room to hold the vigil. The whiteboard had the words “In Honor of Heather Heyer” written upon it. The somber atmosphere of the meeting was acutely felt by all those in attendance.

The first speaker was Carroll-Frey, whose speech highlighted the importance of combating white supremacy so that tragedies such as this never happen again. With an “Unapologetically anti-racist” pin on his t-shirt, he stated “This act of senseless violence should be a call to action for all people dedicated to anti-fascism. As Heyer herself said, ‘If you aren’t angry, you aren’t paying attention.’”

The next speaker was the Civil Rights Club’s Vice President Amber Hott. Her speech focused on the issue of unity between anti-racists in this time of growing fascism. She stated, “In order to enact any real social change, we need allies. I am making a call right now to everyone in this room to take a pledge of allyship for any minority group you are not a part of.”

Next, Denver SDS and IWW member Ralph Mallet performed a musical tribute to Heyer. As he played and sung Danny Boy, the reality of the situation started to dawn on those in attendance. A person was murdered in cold blood by white supremacists. This is not the time for inaction or apathy, this is the time to fight.

#LakewoodCO #SDS #CHarlottesville #HeatherHayer #Denver