Tempers flare at protest over Steve Bannon’s keynote speech in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Tempers flared as protestors and attendees of a GOP event met in Colorado Springs.
A car and protester made contact on two different incidents during the protest of Steve Bannon's GOP speech in Colorado Springs, including a woman who alleges the collision aggravated her hip after a recent procedure.
"I just remembered the car hitting my tire and knocking me off my scooter," said Kelly Kenoyer, who said she is a disabled veteran with Multiple Sclerosis. "I’m a little bit shaky right now because they kept accelerating."
We captured the entire incident on camera. You see a white SUV, moving at a slow speed, appear to clip Kenoyer's scooter. She falls in front of the car, and you see the driver start to slowly move forward, while a Colorado Springs Police officer bangs on the windshield, yelling for them to stop. Bystanders pulled Kenoyer out of the way.
KRDO13 captured a second incident with a car, just minutes before Kenoyer's fall. A protester is crossing the entry way to the event when a white car turns in quickly and hits their brakes just short of hitting the protester. It appears the two exchange words, and then the car accelerates into the parking lot. You see the protester lean into the car as it drives by. The view is then blocked by a truck driving by, and the protester comes back into view, lying on the ground. He stayed on the ground, blocking the entryway for several minutes. He said, "I'm going to stay right here until the ambulance arrives." Shortly after, a CSPD officer made him get up, and he seemed to be able to walk off.
CSPD dispatched multiple on-duty officers for crowd control as tempers rose. As of 5:35 p.m., CSPD said it has made no arrests or issued any tickets for illegal behavior. The agency said no one had reported injuries as of that time.
Protestors began to focus attention on police after officers didn't arrest the driver who had a run-in with Kenoyer. Anti-police chants rung out for multiple minutes, but they passed without further incident.
KRDO13 also witnessed a brief shoving match between protesters and a person in support of the fundraising dinner.
The protest stemmed from the Colorado GOP's decision to make Steve Bannon the keynote speaker of their fundraising dinner, "A Golden Age Gala." Bannon is a former cabinet member of President Donald Trump and owns a right-wing media company. Bannon made headlines for being accused of making a Nazi salute at a conservative conference. He said it was just a wave.
“We want to make sure to let him know that he is not welcome here in Colorado Springs," said Colorado People's Coalition member Alex Somers.
While Bannon was the focus, the protest hit on a wide range of policy decisions from the current administration, including immigration, social services, benefits, veteran affairs, Elon Musk, LGBTQ rights, and the administration's dispositions on the Ukrainian and Palestinian conflicts.
"It is horrible, the fact that Trump has betrayed Ukraine and sold them out. He's given Putin everything," protester Larysa Martyniuk said. She has family in Ukraine and descends from a Ukrainian family.
The Bannon protest sparked a number of counter-protesters, driving trucks around with Trump and MAGA flags before getting out to join the main protest on the sidewalk.
“We just came out to see if we could see Steve Bannon and support the Republicans, and we decided to hang out and let him know we’re here for them," a counter-protester said, who didn't want to be named.
“We are tired of seeing everything that’s going on with our country, and it’s finally a great time to see Trump and everyone coming into action, especially in Colorado," said another counter-protestor.
The protests from both sides lasted nearly 6 hours, finally wrapping up around 10 p.m. There were a few protesters from both parties who made an effort to understand the other side.
“I’m not a white supremacist. I am not a racist; I am not a homophobe," Tommy, a counter-protester, said to a group of anti-Bannon protesters.
KRDO13's Bradley Davis asked Tommy why he felt the need to cross the aisle.
"Because we all live on planet earth."
“I honestly think it’s more important than ever, especially in a climate like this," said an anti-Bannon protester, who did not want to be named. "If you get down and shake someone’s hand and realize, maybe we don’t agree on the politicians, the policy decisions, but their heart, most times, is in the right place."
After 6:30 p.m., both protests continued with loud speakers and passionate words, but police didn't have to intervene in any more physical altercations. The Colorado GOP said the event went off as planned, and it respects the crowd's right to protest and felt both groups did so in a non-violent way.
