I am writing to address my concerns with Salida’s armed man. I have observed this armed man protest for a couple of years now and I have never engaged him. I respected his right to protest however he saw fit. But something changed when this armed man moved his protest to F Street and began to negatively impact others. Then I began to have a problem.
I saw a thread on Salida Colorado Community Facebook page. A community member started a conversation about the armed man. In this thread, someone posted a hyperlink to another site. I found out that this armed man had attempted to join the Proud Boys. Keep in mind that he attempted to join this organization long after it had been identified as a terrorist organization. This man posted his name, phone number, address and employer. This armed man is a self-proclaimed homophobic white supremacist. I began to have a problem.
I made a choice to engage with this armed man, so I sent him a text message. I won’t pretend like I was engaging this armed man in civil conversation. I threw around the word fascist, Nazi, cos-player who plays dress up on the weekends and garbage human but I can ensure you that as crude as my text were, this armed man’s responses were just as crude.
I told him my name immediately because I wanted him to know that there are members of the community who see him for what he is and are not afraid of him. I took it for what it was and considered it a conversation between two adults with very different worldviews.
Why did I reach out to this armed man? Perhaps it was because of my past. I retired as a First Sergeant of a Combat Engineer (SAPPER) company from the Army Reserves after 23 years of service and multiple overseas deployments. I was present for the invasion of Iraq, the troop withdrawal, and the fight against ISIS.
It was not an uncommon site to see piles of human heads near the entrance control points of our bases while going out on patrols. This is what terrorism and sectarian violence leads to. I have also spent the last 13 years working as a first responder in both the urban and rural settings. I have been on multiple mass shootings and I have seen and treated more gunshot wounds than I care to remember. Additionally, I volunteer for a local nonprofit because I believe in the value of community. I am expecting my first child and want to set a good example. These are reasons I texted this armed man.
This last week, this “tough” armed man contacted my employer in what can only be interpreted as an attempt to get me fired. I spoke with my employer and they understand that free speech works both ways. My employer says that as long as I don’t do anything that is illegal, immoral, or unethical then I can express my views the same way as this armed man. I have since blocked his number even though I initiated the contact. As much as I disagree with this armed man, I don’t want to risk losing my job.
I am writing because I think it’s important that we open dialogue about this armed man. Hate crimes are up 22 percent in this country. If this man were to hurt someone then it cannot be disputed that there were red flags. This armed man is claiming First and Second Amendment protections. The Second Amendment represents a freedom that we have in this country but freedom comes with responsibility.
Being racist, homophobic, and attempting to join an extremist organization while carrying a rifle is not being responsible. We do not allow people with mental illness to have access to firearms because that is a red flag. Why are we allowing a self-proclaimed white supremacist who attempted to join a terrorist organization the ability to hide behind the Second Amendment?
This armed man has the right to protest but we as a community have the right to say, “We see you for what you are.”
Salida Resident
Editor’s Note: AVV has confirmed the identity of this reader and Salida resident and has agreed to protect his identity.
Thanks for speaking out. I keep wondering why business owners in the area Danny is trolling don’t band together and hit him with a law suit. He’s obviously impacting business, scaring people and driving them away.
The only way this town will do anything is if it will cost a business money. Businesses have the right to complain and sue for loss of $, but people have no right to sue. The position of our law enforcement agencies should concern everyone and they are supporting a belief in a misinterpretation of our 2nd amendment that was pushed in the 80’s by the NRA in order to choose to allow this behavior that none of the rest of us would get away with. Anyone not concerned should read about these militia-style groups that our law enforcement professionals agree with and belong to and the oaths they take. Some of them display weapons in town like Danny does in order to provoke others to acting against them in order that they may shoot. This is nothing for our city to take lightly and simply push outside the downtown area.
Thank you so much for your valuable input and your attempt to try to reason with the problem. I hope that your experience causes those in a position to red flag this armed menace to listen where they choose not to with others. It is a shame that the first reaction was to try to have you fired. I am afraid that our police have fallen into the same misinformation trap that Danny has and are unfortunately making bad choices. I cannot explain the choice of our city attorney to agree with them, but this problem is going on across the country and from the reading I have personally done about these groups and background this can only go wrong. I would hate to see them take their stand here in Salida where there are two passes and a canyon blocking it in to their disadvantage anyhow. It would be great if our former police and military personnel would stop and think and maybe stop influencing this behavior by training them and giving them tactical information in their ‘Patriots’meets and in online videos. Since only the police and his significant other are in a position to red flag Danny – and maybe our new, local mental health facility I fear that if your voice is not respected that we are doomed. Thank you for your courage and sacrifice in saying something.
I live in Salida, Colorado.. i want to thank you for addressing this situation. For months it was chilling to drive past the armed man and his upside down flag at the intersection of 50 and 285, wondering about his intentions. Exactly what he was trying to say wasn’t clear. Now we know more about him, and it seems evident that his purpose is intimidation. I see his move downtown as a blatant provocation. Can we as a community just let this slide? What happens if he takes it up another notch and decides to use that weapon to accomplish his purpose?
Thank you for speaking out and speaking up. Your experience is invaluable in this situation.
Salida, CO
Thank you for your engagement. Your background gives you extremely relevant experience with weapons and extremists and I value your opinion. I will admit I avoided downtown on Sundays as I did not want to be anywhere near a person with an attitude and carrying a weapon. Again, thank you.