(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Dozens of people gathered to protest outside the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) in Downtown Colorado Springs on Tuesday, April 29, condemning Sunday’s underground nightclub operation.
Protestors held signs and could be heard chanting things like “Roybal go away,” and “Keep ICE out.”
“We are here today to tell the Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement, we do not want them to work with ICE, we are here to stand with immigrants across Colorado and across the nation who are being targeted right now by the Trump administration,” said Jessie Profitt, a protester at the rally.
Their goal was to try and get the attention of El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal, who protesters allege is targeting the immigrant community. Protesters argued those who were arrested at the illegal nightclub are victims of the Trump Administration and law enforcement is violating their constitutional rights.
On Tuesday before the rally, the sheriff released statements on the matter: “I refuse to sit back and allow people to make law enforcement the villains. These same people want the community to believe those involved in illegal activity are victims,” he wrote in a press release to local media.
Demonstrators also said they believe there are other ways law enforcement could have reduced crime in the area, and they are demanding transparency from local authorities, including the Colorado Springs Police Department, about the role each department played.
“Criminals must not be allowed to hide behind the cloak of their immigration status as a shield from prosecution and accountability,” Roybal said in his statement.
During the protest, community members also chanted things like “leave ICE out,” and they stood outside of the Sheriff’s Office until 5 p.m. when it closes.
“We are concerned that people are just being taken in, and families are losing track of their loved ones and not knowing where they are, and are concerned about people disappearing. And that to me is a much larger concern than any of the particulars for itself,” said Profitt.
The Sheriff also said in the press release, “I will not allow media and those who are not public safety experts to continue pushing a false narrative and defame the hard work of my deputies and law enforcement in the Pikes Peak region.”
Tuesday’s protest did not have any counter-protesters present, but some people drove by shaking their heads in disapproval and others even shouted at the crowd.
