Colorado politics reporter’s expulsion from a Republican gathering causes uproar

DENVER (AP) — Politicians and news outlets expressed outrage on Monday over the expulsion from a Republican gathering of an experienced politics reporter who was told the state party chairman believed her reporting was “very unfair.”

Journalists and elected officials, including the former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, came to the defense of Colorado Sun reporter Sandra Fish. The controversy appears to have even helped determine an endorsement Monday in the Republican primary race.

The state Republican Party announced on the social media platform X that it was endorsing U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert over one of her primary opponents, Deborah Flora, in the state’s 4th Congressional District race, partly because “Deb Flora lied about participating in the CD4 Assembly process, & now she’s boot licking fake journalists who only help Democrats.”

The post was a direct reply to Flora’s post on X defending Fish, in which Flora said the expulsion was “wrong and a violation of the First Amendment.”

Party Chairman Dave Williams, who introduces himself on the state GOP website as “Dave ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Williams,” is seeking the nomination to run for the 5th District seat held by Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who is retiring from Congress. In a text, Williams said he had no apologies for kicking Fish out of the assembly in Pueblo on Saturday, and accused her of being a “fake journalist” and the Colorado Sun of being biased. When asked, Williams did not provide examples. The Colorado Sun is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that covers Colorado.

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