{"id":26643,"date":"2024-07-15T14:01:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T20:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/leaders-in-cortez-area-speak-out-about-trump-shooting\/"},"modified":"2024-07-15T20:01:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T20:01:16","slug":"leaders-in-cortez-area-speak-out-about-trump-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/leaders-in-cortez-area-speak-out-about-trump-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaders in Cortez area speak out about Trump shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The FBI is still trying to determine a motive behind the attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. The former president says that a bullet pierced his upper ear, according to The Associated Press<\/p>\n

In the meantime former fire Chief Corey Comperatore was being remembered as a \u201cman of conviction\u201d after he sacrificed his life while using his body to shield his family.<\/p>\n

\"Commissioner
Commissioner Kent Lindsay<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Commissioner
Commissioner Jim Candelaria<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Republican
Republican Larry Don Suckla<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Republican
Republican Chair Lenetta Shull<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Democratic
Democratic Chair Mary Dodd<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\"Sheriff
Sheriff Steven Nowlin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jeremy
Jeremy Reed<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Youth
Youth Pastor Reece Alvarez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Principal
Principal Jennifer Boniface<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mayor
Mayor Rachel Medina<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Former
Former Mayor Mike Lavey<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Former
Former Mayor Karen Sheek<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>

Two other people were wounded and were in stable condition.<\/p>\n

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who carried out the attack, is believed to have acted alone, The AP said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the tone of this week\u2019s Republican convention in Milwaukee could shift in the wake of the violence. It started Monday and runs for four days.<\/p>\n

In light of the attempted assassination, The Journal<\/em> reporters interviewed officials, teachers and politicians in Cortez and Montezuma County for their perspective on what happened. Their responses are below.<\/p>\n

Political figures<\/div>\n

\u201cThis country needs to take a moment and take a breath and reflect on what it really means to be an American these days. We\u2019ve got to reset our values. And this discontent on both sides has got to be idled back the name calling and all of that has got to stop. And I\u2019m really disheartened in the way everything went down.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Kent Lindsay, c<\/strong><\/p>\n

ounty commissioner<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe political violence has got to stop. It\u2019s just got to stop, period. And that\u2019s really all I can say, it\u2019s gone beyond belief. Doesn\u2019t need to be there. Unity is what we need to be striving for, and to get jobs done for the constituency that we were elected to do. The political violence has got to stop.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Jim Candelaria, c<\/strong><\/p>\n

ounty commissioner<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe violence needs to stop, and the rhetoric calling (Trump) a Nazi and both sides need to quit calling each other names.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Larry Don Suckla, candidate for Colorado House District 58<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he showed he was a true leader. He stood up to that adversity, and he when he rose up on the stage and raised his arm with a clenched fist that was in defiance of evil, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking at, is evil, and I think we really have no one to blame but ourselves for the evil that we\u2019re seeing.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Lenetta Shull, chair of the Montezuma County Republican Central Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe condemn all forms of violence, not just political violence, but all forms of violence, and any calls for violence, or violent intimidation, and we also deeply regret that former President Trump was injured, and that an innocent bystander exercising his right to attend a political event for the candidate of his choice was killed \u2026 We choose our leaders by elections at the ballot box. We don\u2019t choose our leaders by political violence and intimidation.\u201d \u2013<\/p>\n

Mary Dodd, chair of the Montezuma County Democratic Central Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cViolence has no place in American politics. Vivian Smotherman vehemently condemns such acts and continues working towards a future where disinformation, hate and fear are not used to sway public opinion and incite senseless violence. Out of respect for the victims and to ensure the safety of our team, we are canceling our community canvassing events for the next five days. This pause is time for reflection. Our campaign is focused on building community through open conversations where every point of view expressed, without hate, is valid and worthy of respect and discussion,\u201d \u2014 <\/p>\n

Campaign spokesperson for Vivian Smotherman, Colorado Senate District 6 candidate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Law enforcement<\/div>\n

\u201cI just think that any violence like that is totally uncalled for and just creates more animosity and issues of potential violence in the future. I\u2019m glad that everybody that was or did survive survived, and it\u2019s just terrible that there was a loss of life.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Steve Nowlin, Montezuma County Sheriff<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWords have meaning, and I\u2019ll tell you, you got to think about what you say. There are consequences.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Steve Nowlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cViolence has no place in American politics.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Jeremy Reed, 22nd Judicial District Attorney candidate<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI know the investigation is ongoing, and we may or may not ever know what the would be assassin\u2019s motivations were, so I wouldn\u2019t want to speculate on that.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Jeremy Reed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI abhor all forms of political violence,\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Christian Hatfield, 22nd Judicial District Attorney<\/strong><\/p>\n

School and church officials<\/div>\n

\u201cPastor Burkett also mentioned it yesterday, briefly. He said that God\u2019s hand was definitely in it, and it could have been worse. And obviously, it was not God\u2019s will for him to die Saturday. And I mentioned it yesterday to the youth group, and I kind of said, you know, praise the Lord he\u2019s OK. Then making the application and conclusion that ultimately, Donald Trump is not our savior. He is not our source of hope. Jesus Christ is our hope, and he\u2019s the foundation that can\u2019t be shaken.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2013 Reece Alvarez, Lighthouse Ba<\/strong>ptist Church youth pastor <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe attempted assassination of Donald Trump was a tragedy due to the loss of the Donald Trump supporter who had showed up to support the democratic process at his rally. The lesson that I hope that students can take away from this is that there\u2019s better ways to handle concerns than violence. Our process is designed to be non-violent and violence just undermines everything we stand for as a democracy. I think our democracy will withstand this attempt and will be stronger going forward. And, you know, the courage of the former president was evident and the courage of our law enforcement officers to protect him and as well as the bystanders was commendable. And so, while it was a tragedy, it will be a learning experience. Not just for our students, but for the country.\u201c \u2013 <\/p>\n

Todd Cordrey, Mancos School District superintendent <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish our nation and our community could come together more and learn to communicate effectively. We are teaching our nation\u2019s youth and going about the lessons the wrong way \u2026 I would love for students to learn more about politics and develop the ability to form their own research and fact-based opinions without being swayed by false news or adult biases. We want our kids to go into the world ready to be voters who are knowledgeable and skilled.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Jennifer Boniface, Montezuma-Cortez High School Principal<\/strong><\/p>\n

City officials<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just heartbroken that our country\u2019s become more and more violent, and it\u2019s escalated to this point. It\u2019s disturbing but also predictable, unfortunately. I\u2019m sad about the state of our civility in this country \u2026 and the quickness to violence and hatred. And so I hope this is an opportunity to shift that trajectory, but I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Rachel Medina, Cortez mayor<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cResorting to violence should never be OK. I hope that we strive to be better people who can talk through our differences.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Rachel Medina <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI abhor violence in any form, including the threat of violence. I think it\u2019s last resort- it should not even be a resort \u2026 We should speak through discussions and conversations, you know, instead of resorting to violence.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Mike Lavey, former Cortez mayor<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that this assassination attempt will make us realize this is not the answer, that we need to maintain cordiality and respect for each other and have discussions and not resort to violence.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Mike Lavey <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I was horrified like everybody else. This is not the way that a democracy works. We have freedom of speech. Everybody has the opportunity to be able to say what they think about particular issues, and when we reach the point where it\u2019s not safe for politicians and eventually anybody else to be able to stand up and state their position, then we don\u2019t have a democracy anymore. So it was quite alarming and I hope that this is a wake-up call. I think all parties need to dial back their rhetoric, and we need to start discussing issues respectfully without it coming to the point where we have these kinds of situations that occurred this weekend.\u201d \u2013 <\/p>\n

Karen Sheek, League of Women Voters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other<\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of hate in America, and that is what I think fed this whole thing, whoever was behind it. They\u2019ve been doing this for so long, and, no offense to you, but the media is a large part of this \u2026 You don\u2019t see fuzzy, warm stories on the news, but you do see a lot of hate.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2013 Sherry Simmons, a former leader of the Montezuma County Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI just pray, and I\u2019m waiting on Jesus to come back, myself. I\u2019m praying for everyone to get to know him.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2013 Sherry Simmons of the Montezuma County Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note: The Journal reached out several others, who did not reply. They are: Kelly Codner, public information officer; Cortez Police Chief Vernon Knuckles, Cortez Police Department; Gerald Koppenhafer, Montezuma County commissioner; and Chris Holkestad, Dolores mayor. Mancos Marshal <\/em>Justen Goodall and Dolores Town Manager Leigh Reeves declined to comment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Journal reporters Cameryn Cass, Bailey Duran, Shylee Graf and Sophia McCrackin contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article was updated Wednesday to include a statement from District Attorney Christian Hatfield.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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