A fire chief lost his free speech case. The day after, he published a book.
By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Erik Holt read the opinion the morning it came down on July 7 at 9 a.m. Three federal judges had decided that when the former Florissant fire chief handed election surveillance footage to a criminal investigator examining alleged misconduct in the board's election, he was doing his job, not speaking as a citizen.
That single finding ended his case. It meant the federal courts would never reach whether the board fired him in retaliation.
He wrote the last chapter of his book that day. He submitted it for publishing the next.
"I used the very First Amendment that the court said I didn't have to publish a book and tell my story," Holt said.
RMV has followed Holt's case since November 2025, in reports on the su...
