The Cortez City Council reaffirmed the right of all citizens to assemble peacefully and exercise free speech in a civil manner in an official statement released Tuesday.
The statement was made in response to a confrontation that occurred on Main Street on Saturday evening. Several people, including members of the Montezuma County Patriots, joined a counterprotest against the Walk for Justice and Peace, crossing Main Street and confronting walkers face to face.
Justice and Peace walkers remained silent, holding signs and continuing to walk along Main Street as counterprotesters followed them, shouting “Go home” and “You don’t belong in our community.”
In its statement, the city of Cortez reminded citizens to be “respectful of others’ right to exercise their free speech.”
“Cortez is home to a diverse group of individuals and groups with many different beliefs and interests,” the statement reads. City Council said expressing beliefs should be “done so in a civil and lawful way, while respecting the businesses and residences in the area.”
Several business owners contacted the mayor with complaints that the confrontation Saturday deterred customers from their restaurants and stores, which have been hit financially by the pandemic.
The statement also praised the Cortez Police Department for its professionalism and “commitment to serving the public and allowing voices to be heard safely.”
Raleigh Marmorstein, an organizer of the Walk for Justice and Peace, called a nonemergency dispatch number to alert the police as phrases from the counterprotesters turned threatening and included obscenities on Saturday.
“Let’s take this difficult time to come together as a community, listen to each other and learn from one another,” the City Council wrote in its statement.
Reactions from demonstration organizers Tiffany Ghere, a co-organizer of the Montezuma County Patriot rides, said in a phone interview with The Journal she was glad the City Council released a statement that it is everyone’s First Amendment right to exercise free speech.
She clarified Tuesday that the confrontation Saturday evening was not an event organized by the Patriots.
“There were no laws broken to begin with,” Ghere said. Swear words are “not exactly tactful, but it’s not against the law.”
Tensions are high right now, but that “doesn’t justify” using obscene language, Ghere said. “I’m glad the city is staying neutral – they have to represent the community as a whole.”
Marmorstein of the Walk for Justice and Peace said in a phone interview with The Journal the statement from City Council was a good start, but it “does not go far enough to condemn hate speech or bullying behavior.”
Threatening language targeted at Dawn Robertson, another organizer of the Walk for Justice and Peace, including “Go back to Boston, and if you come back, you will be in trouble,” goes too far for Marmorstein.
“That’s a threat that puts her life in danger. When your speech infringes on the rights or life of others, it is not protected,” she said, adding later that “safety in general is being compromised.”
After the Walk for Justice and Peace on Saturday, Robertson was followed by a truck with about six flags on it.
The driver of the truck recognized Robertson, and Robertson recognized the driver as one of the counterprotesters, she told The Journal Thursday.
The truck then made a U-turn at the corner of South Elm Street and West North Street and followed Robertson in her car for a few turns, Robertson said.
The Cortez Police Department is aware of the incident.
In the presidential debate Tuesday night, President Donald Trump avoided condemning white supremacy directly when moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace asked him to do so. Actions like this at the national level “have real implications when we stand in the street,” Marmorstein said.
The mayor and the city are trying, she said. But City Council should say that “people of all races and religions matter and belong here,” Marmorstein said.
“I have ultimate respect for police for engaging in a larger conversation,” Marmorstein said. “The chief and the lieutenant are doing an amazing job of keeping people safe.”
ehayes@the-journal.com