Wednesday’s Constitution Day in the United States saw YouTuber, homeless activist and recent released prisoner Regan Benson return to the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center in downtown Denver to interview newly released prisoners as they exited the building and attempt to encourage them to file complaints to Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor.
Benson herself was locked up in the detention center from Sunday evening until midday on Monday for a pre-investigative charge of violating Colorado Revised Statute 18-9-313 subsection 2.7.
That statute essentially makes it a misdemeanor to broadcast to the internet the home address and information of a member of the public when it would cause reasonable concern for safety of that person.
According to Benson, that person is Commander Joel Bell of Denver’s District Three command staff as the Commander sought and was granted a warrant for Benson’s arrest after viewing her sharing his name and home address to her fans in a livestream held in early September.
Benson turned herself in on the warrant Sunday night and said that she experienced deplorable conditions. She described filthy, unclean cells, despite the detention center being on lockdown for “cleaning day.”
She further complained about a lack of running water, women being denied feminine hygiene products, and a lack of access to her medicine for existing medical conditions despite being promised access to those drugs before she entered the facility.
On Wednesday, Benson was accompanied by Christopher “Denver Metro Audits” Cordova, who was serving as her “backup” or “muscle” during the event. Benson said she was fearful of the Denver Police Department and would no longer be creating chalk graffiti artwork without someone watching her back because of it.
Cordova stood meekly for the majority of the broadcast, holding Benson’s camera as she interviewed people coming out of the prison and occasionally adding to Benson’s chalk work on the ground outside of the detention center.
He did take time to explain that there was a United States Supreme Court ruling that made producing chalk graffiti legal, regardless of content, as it was only temporary and could easily be removed.
While Cordova looked on, Benson approached a number of people and was able to get interviews with a handful as they came out of the detention center. Besides pocket constitutions, Benson sweetened the deal by handing out bottles of water and bus passes.
Benson explained that her own complaints to Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor often went unanswered or took years to answer. She said that by encouraging more people to make complaints about the deplorable conditions within the facility, it may encourage the office to take action faster.
The YouTuber also updated her own court case, stating that no formal charges have been made against her, despite her jailing for the warrant. She said she was being held for “investigative” purposes and had met quite a number of other people who were also in the center with no formal charges.
Benson promised a follow-up investigation into the use of “investigative” holds by the city.
She also made it clear that Commander Bell still had a civil protective order against her, apparently stopping her from going to Denver’s District Three police facility. She pledged that the protective order would be challenged and easily defeated.
Benson and Cordova gave up after ninety minutes of broadcasting as their meters were set to expire and they were losing sunlight.
