Over 100 vehicles and about 20 motorcycles participated in the Montezuma County Patriots’ Freedom Ride on Saturday, calling out “Trump 2020” and “four more years.”
Organizers of the Freedom Ride also planned a march to support Second Amendment rights for Saturday morning, but decided to postpone it Friday afternoon.
The Second Amendment March was planned for 8:30 a.m. on Main Street, the same time and location as the Walk for Justice and Peace.
With tensions running high before the general election on Tuesday, Tiffany Ghere, organizer of the Freedom Rides on Main Street, said the Patriots “do not need to put undue hardship on our law enforcement and stretch already thin resources.”
Cortez Police Chief Vern Knuckles spoke with Ghere on Friday to express the police department’s concerns about a Second Amendment March in which Patriots carried arms on Main Street.
The event would “put a strain on police resources,” Knuckles said, so the Patriots postponed the event out of respect and support for local law enforcement.
Ghere posted a notice about the march on Facebook earlier in the week. The police department was “getting a lot of calls from both sides expressing concerns – even people who support the Patriots felt that it was too much,” Knuckles said.
Two Cortez police officers on bicycles monitored the Walk for Justice and Peace from a distance Saturday because of the concerns raised to the police department.
The Walk for Justice changed their meeting location and route to Centennial Park and the surrounding blocks, traveling as far as City Market before turning back to the park.
“I did not start the march, but even before I started organizing, every move we’ve made is for de-escalation,” Dawn Robertson said.
The Walk for Justice changed the time of their event on Saturday several weeks in a row after a face to face confrontation on Main Street between counterprotesters and those participating in the walk.
“I heartily, completely agree with Second Amendment rights,” Robertson said.
But because the Second Amendment March was scheduled for the same time as the Walk for Justice, Robertson said it is a “clear counterprotest.”
The Walk for Justice does not call for a revocation of Second Amendment rights, she said.
“I’m proud that people are willing to fight for their rights,” and the Walk for Justice is made up of “Americans fighting for our rights, as well,” Robertson said.
Raleigh Marmorstein, a co-organizer of the Walk for Justice, said the Cortez Police Department took concerns about the Second Amendment March very seriously, and was in contact with all parties.
“It is their Second Amendment right to bear arms, but bringing them into public spaces sends a message of intimidation,” not a message about the right to protect oneself, Marmorstein said.
Both the Walk for Justice and the Freedom Ride held peaceful demonstrations on Main Street Saturday morning, though Ghere said several people attempted to block the Patriots’ path.
One Ford-150 truck continuously pulled in front of Freedom Riders and ground to a halt in downtown Cortez on Main Street.
The driver was pulled over on Montezuma Avenue and cited by police for reckless driving, according to Sgt. Dave Allmon of the Cortez Police Department.
One man also lay down in the middle of Main Street, blocking traffic and the path of vehicles participating in the Freedom Ride.
Vehicles with flags drove around the man in the road, and after several minutes he got up and out of the road on his own.
Members of the Cortez Police Department arrived to check in with the man and ensure his safety, including Knuckles.
Marmorstein, who spoke with the man at length after the incident, said he was distressed and intoxicated after a recent family death.
ehayes@the-journal.com
