'Political violence': Colorado Dem lawmakers say they were targets of vandalism on Election Night
COLORADO — Two Colorado lawmakers, both Democrats, said their cars were vandalized on Election Night and that law enforcement was investigating.
State Representative Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista, and Rep. Tisha Mauro, D-Pueblo, sent a joint release Monday condemning what they called "political violence."
"As elected officials, we want to make it clear that political violence is never acceptable, and we will not be silenced or intimidated," said Martinez and Mauro in the statement. "Free and fair elections are how Coloradans decide who they want to govern our state, and any targeting of public officials is un-democratic and un-American."
Martinez said he was attending the Pueblo Democratic watch party at the Union Depot on Election Night on Pueblo's B Street.
After leaving the event, he discovered his truck's passenger and driver side windows had been smashed in. A large rock was left on his seat.
Initially, he didn't think much of it until a meeting with other Pueblo Democrats the next morning. That's when Rep. Mauro revealed her car windows had been smashed with a rock as well. She had parked outside of her home.
To their knowledge, no other cars were targeted or vandalized at Union Depot or in Mauro's neighborhood and no other Democrats have reported a similar incident.
On Monday, Martinez told KOAA he believes they were targeted because they both have identifiers on their cars signaling they work at the state capitol. Mauro has a house district license plate and Martinez had his state capitol parking pass on display.
"On Election Day, this is where our voices are supposed to be heard. And this is how we air out our disputes–whether we're happy, not happy with our current elected officials–is being able to do that through the ballot box, through our democratic process," said Martinez in an interview on Monday. "We shouldn't be doing it this way, through violence or through acts of vandalism."
Since filing the report, Martinez said he hasn't heard any updates into the investigation.
Both Martinez and Mauro won re-election to their respective seats.
