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Gun-safety group joins Crow in calling for resignation of extremist-linked U.S. Rep. Boebert
The gun-safety advocacy group Colorado Ceasefire is calling for the resignation of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Silt Republican and Rifle businessowner who represents the western two-thirds of Eagle County and most of the Colorado’s Western Slope.
“Rep. Lauren Boebert has tried to disenfranchise America’s voters and intimidate lawmakers. By aligning herself with extremists, she has turned her back on her CD3 constituents,” Eileen McCarron of Colorado Ceasefire said in a press release on Wednesday. “She has no place in the U.S. House and we call on her to tender her resignation.”
Citing Boebert’s actions before and during the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump and members of white-nationalist domestic terrorism groups, as well as Boebert’s insistence on carrying a firearm in the Capitol, Colorado Ceasefire is circulating a petition urging Boebert to resign.
On Thursday, Parkland school shooting survivor and gun-safety activist David Hogg tweeted, “They can put up all the fencing around the capitol the real threats of @mtgreenee and @laurenboebert will still be inside until @GOPLeader takes a stand.”
Boebert replied, “David, please. We all saw how tough you were when questioned face to face. Give your keyboard a rest, child.”
That prompted this response from Pueblo former State Rep. Bri Buentello, who is suing Boebert for blocking her on Twitter:
“Since Boebert took office nearly a month ago, we haven’t heard a single plan for a town hall, nor have we heard any plans she has for bills that would protect our water or generate economic development in Southern Colorado. All we have seen and heard from Lauren Boebert is how much she doesn’t like Joe Biden, how she thinks the 2020 election was rigged, and now, how much contempt she has for survivors of school shootings.
“As a mom, a gun owner, a former educator, and a CD3 constituent, I cannot fathom why Lauren Boebert would insult and mock the survivor of a school shooting that killed 17 children and school staffers. Boebert can find the time to cyberbully trauma victims on Twitter, but evidently can’t find the time to actually do her job as our Congressperson. Lauren, mom to mom, put down the damn phone and do the job we taxpayers are paying you to do.”
Boebert has faced growing criticism from officials in and outside of her district for tweeting “Today is 1776” the morning of the attack, calling the mob storming the Capitol her constituents in a floor speech as they mobbed the building, spreading election-fraud lies and tweeting the location of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who some attackers threatened with violence.
Boebert condemned the violence after the attack but also tried to blame Democrats and Hollywood liberals. Her office did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on the Colorado Ceasefire petition or calls by her House colleagues for an investigation into her actions. Emails to the offices of Diana DeGette and Jason Crow – Colorado Democrats critical of Boebert – also were not returned. A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse referred to previous statements on the Capitol insurrection.
The week started with Boebert being accused of illegally accepting the gift of a gun from a pro-Trump biker group and yet another article tying her to anti-government extremists she previously claimed not to know. Then she was named by House minority leadership to the natural resources and budget committees.
Boebert has also been labeled as a member of the QAnon Caucus for remarks she made before being elected that indicated sympathy for the debunked and dangerous conspiracy theory that Democrats and Hollywood elites are devil-worshipping pedophiles that only Trump can defeat.
On Wednesday, QAnon-linked U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was called out for previous social media posts advocating violence against Democrats such as Pelosi, prompting a resolution to expel Greene by California Democrat Jimmy Gomez citing safety concerns.
Pelosi on Thursday said, “The enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about, in addition to what is happening outside.”
Lafayette Democrat Neguse, who represents the eastern third of Eagle County, issued a statement on Jan. 6 calling out colleagues for inciting the attack:
“The seat of our nation’s government was breached in a violent attack incited by the President of the United States and fueled by baseless claims from some of my Republican colleagues in Congress,” Neguse said, without naming names.
Crow, a combat veteran from the state’s Front Range, has requested additional support resources to help in the wake of the Capitol attack. He also told 9News in Denver that Boebert helped incite a riot when she objected to presidential election results and called for her resignation.
Crow was joined by Neguse, Colorado senior Congresswoman DeGette and more than 100 other House members in calling for the Government Accountability Office to investigate the “impact of rhetoric by government and elected officials that contributed to or led to the insurrection.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday issued a warning that white-nationalist extremist groups may be emboldened by the Capitol attack.
DeGette, a Denver Democrat who is an impeachment manager along with Neguse, told Colorado Public Radio there’s a bigger problem than just the rhetoric and actions of Boebert:
“It’s not just Rep. Boebert, there’s others … who seemed to take a heightened role in the inflaming of emotions. But I need to do the research about all of these numbers to see exactly what they did say. Were they just exercising their First Amendment right or were they actually inciting sedition? So that’s what we’re working on right now.”
This article will be updated with any responses from members of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
David O. Williams
