LOVELAND — A 64-year-old Loveland man who was arrested after he was accused of setting fire to a private memorial for Charlie Kirk has a history of politically motivated attacks, according to Loveland Police Department reports.
In 2021, police reports obtained by Denver7 show David Gilroy "verbally harassed" two women before "slamming an open vehicle door on her leg" presumably upset "about the Trump / Pence political signs in their yard."
Fast forward to Saturday, when police began investigating after a memorial outside a home honoring Kirk was set on fire.
Kirk was shot and killed September 10, while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University.
Gilroy was booked into the Larimer County Jail for second-degree arson and resisting arrest. He was given a personal recognizance bond, and Denver7 is learning this isn't his first run in with law enforcement.
Police are still looking for a separate suspect in this case, accused of shattering a car window, according to Chris Padgett, a spokesperson for the police department.
The new memorial has been built and includes American flags and flowers lining a white picket fence. On the fence hangs two signs, one with the words, "RIP Charlie. We stand with you!"
A woman who lives at the home told Denver7 she is happy the suspect was caught, but feels "iffy" about him being out on bond.
"Memorials, free speech, doing those type of things to represent your feelings and views. Those are welcomed," Padgett said. "But at the same time, just be cautious of doing so and know that there could be circumstances that maybe become bothersome."
The original memorial was destroyed, burned and vandalized Saturday and Padgett said police believe "there was a political motivation behind this."
It's now the newest on a list of similar investigations in Loveland, like the five separate attacks at a Tesla dealership, which we've covered on Denver7 for several months.
"We are a community that relatively stands united. And these type of things we don’t want to see. These aren’t the type of things we want to put our name on the map for," Padgett said.
Political divisiveness is a conversation Denver7 has been digging into with political experts like Robert Preuhs.
"I think the shooting with Charlie Kirk and its response is really part of a trajectory we've seen over the last ten, 20, 30 years," Preuhs said to Denver7 reporter Maggy Wolanske, during an interview just four days after Kirk's assassination. "Where we are right now is we're at a point where many members of each political party see and feel an existential threat from the other."
He explained it's individuals making these choices, and they're not representative of either political party as a whole.
"We uniformly blame the other side for whatever violence occurs to folks on our side and conversely or similarly, justify violence on our side," Preuhs said. "All that does is feed into this cycle of of a sense of normalcy."
