YouTubers Regan Benson and Christopher “Denver Metro Audits” Cordova live streamed from the Englewood, Colorado, Civic Center Monday night as they claimed they were there to attend the “going away party” for Englewood police chief Sam Watson, who is retiring later this month.
The pair were on scene before the regular Englewood City Council meeting, with Cordova signed up to speak. As they were walking to enter the building, they noticed Watson and his wife entering the building and Watson holding the door for those who were near him.
Benson and Cordova, who were not close to the doors, complained that Watson did not hold the door open for them, with Benson sarcastically asking Watson (who was now inside the building) if he would let her stick her thumb up his butt.
After going through security, Benson noted that new signs were displayed throughout the facility indicating that flash photography was only allowed during recognition periods, press had to stay at the press table to film, and booing, cheering and applauding was now prohibited.
Benson encountered city council member Rita Russell on the way into the city council chamber and demanded to know when Russell would be replying to her e-mail on the city council’s consideration of a camping ban law.
Russell, who is usually sympathetic towards Benson, told the YouTuber and activist that she didn’t think Benson deserved a response after Benson belittled her and degraded her in an e-mail sent to the entire city council.
Englewood, like other cities across the country, debated a “camping ban” that would essentially allow police to arrest people for sleeping on the streets or on city owned property. No decision has been made on such a ban and no motion has been advanced to institute such a ban.
Cordova, returning to the chamber for the first time since mysteriously ending a speech mid-sentence two weeks ago, milled about the chamber, talking with various officials before the event started.
Once the meeting started, Benson became outraged and appealed to the city clerk when the entire chamber applauded for Police Chief Sam Watson after he gave a speech thanking the city council for recognition and reflecting on his time as police chief.
The outraged YouTuber pointing out that the posted signs said that applause was prohibited in general and did not specify when applause was allowed. Benson later used her new position at the back of the room at the “media table” to loudly criticize and mock speakers at the city council meeting to the great delight of the 58 viewers of her live stream.
Cordova was the last speaker during the public speaking portion of the event; due to recently enacted policy changes, he was moved down the list of speakers since he had spoken at the previous city council meeting.
He thanked City Manager Shawn Lewis and city council member Tena Prange for checking in on him after the incident at the previous meeting and explained that he was fine now but he had been going through “a lot of things” at the previous meeting.
Cordova then launched into the speech, aimed at city council member Steve Ward, who penned a column about recent actions of first amendment auditors in the Englewood City Magazine.
The YouTuber brought up Ward’s criticism of his comment supporting the public display of pornography in the Englewood public library and again said that it would be unconstitutional to ban pornography, though he would never look at pornography in public.
He then criticized the changes to the public speaking portion of the meeting, calling Mayor Othoniel Sierra “more disruptive” when he asked people to stop clapping than the disruption caused by those who decide to clap.
Cordova claimed it was discriminatory to ban applause as it was targeted towards opponents of the city council and that he felt the ban should be rescinded.
Benson and Cordova left the meeting after Cordova’s address, going to the third floor to have an extended complain session for their fans about the current status of Englewood police (tyrants!), polices (unconstitutional!) and the city’s war on the homeless.
The pair took all copies of the Englewood magazine from displays on the third floor, along with assorted promotional material, and began autographing them to be used in a future raffle for their fans. Benson promising a $5.00 entry fee for the raffle, with all proceeds going to her non-profit homeless organization.
Benson later accused Denver police sergeant Brian O’Neill of modifying a homeless woman’s address within Denver’s police system to send mail to Benson’s house on behalf of the woman. With the YouTuber filing an internal affairs complaint about an incident where the woman’s jury duty summons was delivered to Benson’s home address.
Ending the stream, Benson asked her fans to start complaining to Colorado’s Attorney General about Englewood cases as the Englewood police will never follow up on her complaints.
She also promised a “big update” on an unknown issue before calling it a night.
