DENVER — Monday marked another day of protests at the Colorado State Capitol, where dozens of community members came together at noon to strike in solidarity with Minnesota and use their emotions to call for change.
Monday's demonstration comes amid mounting outrage over the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents, the second fatal shooting by federal immigration officers this month.
Braiden Synnestvedt, who helped organize the event, said it gives people a way to use their 'anger positively.' While another protest was planned for Monday evening, he said the noon event served a specific purpose.
"Noon on a Monday is typically when people are at work, when people are at school, and we're purposely trying to disrupt that, because the reality is that peaceful, permitted marches, while they have their place as a community organization function, they do not disrupt the system," Synnestvedt said.
Regarding the impact in Colorado, Synnestvedt expressed concern and believes these demonstrations will continue regularly to cause disruptions.
"We are expecting what happened in Minneapolis to happen in Colorado, especially as this sort of case with Minneapolis moves up through the courts," said Synnestvedt. "We can maybe expect the court to ask about the 3,000 federal agents in Minneapolis leave, but that means that they are going to go somewhere else, and Denver is on the list."
Lucia Novara came out on her lunch break to make her voice heard in this protest. She said, "Yeah, I'm out here because I don't think there's a choice to not. This is obviously been a travesty for a long time, but this is the point at which you don't get to say 'I'm not going to do anything.'"
While technology can bring the world to our fingertips, Novara explained, people can feel alone when consuming this news. Monday's Capitol gathering, she said, showed community members they're not alone and can support each other.
"If we get an infiltration like Minnesota has seen, I would really hope that Denver reacts the way that Minneapolis residents have reacted and stand up for their neighbors," Novara said.
Across town at the Mango House, Denver7 listened to other perspectives in the community to understand how people are processing the events and what they want to see happen next. Anna Hanel said she has seen the videos of what happened in Minnesota and knows many people are worried.
"Legally, there are things that we've been told, 'Okay, let your refugee and immigrant friends know these are the rights they have,' but right now, we don't know if any of that matters; that's really scary," Hanel said.
Hanel said she trusts our systems to protect American rights, but not the federal government. Looking ahead, she worries a similar situation could happen in Colorado.
"There had been talk in the past about Aurora, the Denver area, Colorado facing other political attacks from the administration for various reasons. So I do worry that this could be the next Minnesota," Hanel said.
Dr. Augustine Rios with Ardas Family Medicine said the feelings of anger and fear are not new, as this has been happening for the past several months.
"It doesn't matter that they're citizens. It doesn't matter that they've come through that paperwork. They're very scared and rightfully so," Rios said.
Working with the immigrant community, Rios said he'd rather help people than be part of the opposition.
"I don't think it's anywhere near over, and I think it's going to get really ugly, but I would rather be here and be part of it to see that, see the other side," Rios said.
Bovino has been at the center of the administration’s aggressive enforcement surge in cities nationwide. His departure marks a significant public shift in federal law enforcement posture
