Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Free Speech

Free Speech on Trial: Colorado Pushes Ideology, CEO Pushes Back
State, The Washington Times

Free Speech on Trial: Colorado Pushes Ideology, CEO Pushes Back

By Valerie Richardson | The Washington Times Sey: 'I would argue that we're the ones correctly gendering' DENVER — Jennifer Sey hasn’t run afoul of Colorado’s newly passed ban on “misgendering,” but it’s only a matter of time. Last year, Ms. Sey founded XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear company that bills itself as “the only brand standing up for female athletes and the protection of women’s sports” in reaction to the influx of male-born competitors in female athletics. Referring to transgender people by their opposite-sex names and pronouns in advertising and customer interactions, as Colorado law now requires, would be more than inconvenient — it would contradict her entire business model. “When we talk about how it isn’t right for boys to compete in girls’ sports, it’s import...
Speaking out or stepping over? Jury hits Lindell with $2.3M defamation verdict
USA Today, National

Speaking out or stepping over? Jury hits Lindell with $2.3M defamation verdict

By Natalie Neysa Alund and Melina Khan | USA Today A federal jury has found MyPillow founder Mike Lindell liable for defaming a former Colorado voting system executive after the 2020 presidential election. The Denver-based jury determined on June 16 that Lindell made "baseless conspiracy theories claiming election fraud in the 2020 election" and slandered Eric Coomer, a former director at Dominion Voting Systems, a North American company that makes and sells voting machines and tabulators. Coomer filed the suit in the District of Colorado in May 2022, claiming Lindell and two of his companies − MyPillow and FrankSpeech − helped spread a conspiracy theory that he rigged the election against President Donald Trump. According to the 67-page suit obtained b...
From real estate to crypto to Colorado: Eric Trump to speak at RMV Mountain Majesty Gala
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From real estate to crypto to Colorado: Eric Trump to speak at RMV Mountain Majesty Gala

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice They didn’t want this event to happen. Activists have spent weeks pressuring the venue, trying to intimidate organizers into pulling the plug. But the Rocky Mountain Voice’s first Mountain Majesty Gala is moving forward – and Eric Trump is headlining it. His June 21 appearance comes as conservatives in Colorado work to turn energy into strategy – and frustration into action. While his last name still dominates headlines, Trump arrives not just as a surrogate – but as a strategist, builder and global voice for strength, sovereignty and innovation. With protest threats in the background, and momentum from the base up front, the Gala is already doing what it set out to do: make waves. Trump spent summers in the Czech countryside with his ...
Hancock: The phrase that shields tyranny behind a slogan
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hancock: The phrase that shields tyranny behind a slogan

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Substack In George Orwell’s 1984, citizens were told that war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. It was called Newspeak—language engineered to distort thought—and doublethink, the act of believing two contradictory things at once. Today, we don’t need fiction. We have the perpetual news. Across America, mobs swarm immigration offices, smash windows, burn vehicles, blockade highways, and hurl explosives at federal buildings—all while being shielded under the banner of “peaceful protest.” The phrase is repeated so often it’s practically trademarked. Politicians echo it. Journalists parrot it. And poets romanticize it, casting destruction as defiance and rage as righteousness. The public is expected not just to accept the...
Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent
Approved, Commentary, State, USA Today

Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent

By Ingrid Jacques | Commentary, USA Today Colorado has threatened to sic the thought police on anyone who doesn't comply by using state-approved language about transgender people. You’d think that after two significant losses at the U.S. Supreme Court, Colorado would tread more carefully with its anti-discrimination laws.  No such luck. A new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in May, expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to make deadnaming and misgendering transgender individuals a punishable offense. California, not surprisingly, has tried something similar but on a more limited basis. The updated Colorado provisions have already attracted lawsuits on the grounds that the law violates the U.S. Constitution, includ...
‘I did nothing wrong’: Mike Lindell stands firm in Denver defamation trial
Approved, denvergazette.com, National

‘I did nothing wrong’: Mike Lindell stands firm in Denver defamation trial

By Carol McKinley | Denver Gazette Mike Lindell said he takes no responsibility for the election-stealing accusations he leveled against a former Dominion Voting Systems employee MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he is on a crusade to get rid of electronic voting machines in favor of hand-counted paper ballots and he’s hoping his defamation trial will provide a “gateway” to keeping the conversation alive. Lindell took the stand on Monday to defend himself in the federal defamation trial against him. The proceeding is starting its second, and likely final, week. A former employee of Dominion Voting Systems filed the defamation lawsuit in U.S. District Court, saying he was unfairly accused of rigging the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Right out of the gate, the plaintiff's att...
Hunter: Dear Common Sense on using your voice without becoming part of the chaos
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hunter: Dear Common Sense on using your voice without becoming part of the chaos

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice “Dear Common Sense” is a no-nonsense advice column for those who still believe truth matters, leadership is earned, and common sense isn’t so common anymore. Each issue tackles real questions from real people, offering grounded wisdom for speaking up, leading well, and living with integrity in a noisy world. No shouting. No spin. Just clarity with character.  Let’s lean into our first entry. Shall we? Dear Common Sense, I care about this country, probably more than I let on. And I’m not one to sit on my hands when something needs to be said. But these days, it feels like speaking up just adds to the noise. I don’t want to keep my mouth shut, but I don’t want to add to the shouting match either. ...
Enos: Colorado’s war on parental rights isn’t over—it’s escalating
Approved, Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Commentary, State

Enos: Colorado’s war on parental rights isn’t over—it’s escalating

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado Colorado is on a roll. Violating religious liberty and compelling free speech are two issues that Colorado Courts have already been reprimanded for. Our Courts lost two civil rights lawsuits – Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis – in addition to being overturned by the United States Supreme Court in the decision that was supposed to throw Donald Trump off the 2024 Colorado Presidential Election ballot. Now, we are doing it all over again. On Friday, May 16th, Governor Polis quietly signed HB25-1312, Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals, into law. There was no ceremony or statement from the Governor, just an administrative signature. When...
Turley: Rubio Declares War on Foreign Censors Targeting U.S. Speech
Approved, Commentary, JONATHANTURLEY.ORG, National

Turley: Rubio Declares War on Foreign Censors Targeting U.S. Speech

By Jonathan Turley | Commentary, jonathanturley.org Winston Churchill once warned that “appeasement is feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last.” When it comes to the crocodile of censorship, history is strewn with defenders who later became digestives. Censorship produces an insatiable appetite for greater and greater speech limits, and today’s censorship supporters often become tomorrow’s censored subjects. This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stopped feeding the crocodile. On May 28, 2025, Rubio shocked many of our allies by issuing a new visa restriction policy that bars foreign nationals deemed “responsible for censorship of protected expression” in the U.S. The new policy follows a major address by Vice President J.D. Vanc...
Garbo: Boulder wasn’t a clash, it was terrorism
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Garbo: Boulder wasn’t a clash, it was terrorism

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice What happened in Boulder was an act of terrorism, plain and simple. The alleged actions of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, targeting Jews in what authorities have rightly identified as an ideologically motivated, antisemitic attack, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It was not a “disturbance,” or a “clash,” or a “misunderstanding.” It was hate. And it was violent, deliberate, and evil. This nation was founded on the principle that people of all faiths and backgrounds can worship, gather, and speak freely without fear. That principle was shattered in Boulder, and we cannot - must not - look away. Governor Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser deserve appreciation for calling this what it is: an act of hate-fuele...