In the absence of mayor Othoniel Sierra, the Englewood, Colorado, City Council meeting spiraled out of control as it dealt with a missed public speaker, a skipped public speaker and the ever-present protest of activist and non-Englewood resident Regan Benson.
Benson started the night by adding to the chaos early as she returned to her recent confusing gimmick of carrying a pitchfork (or garden rake to the uninformed) with her camera mounted to it and screaming, “Google peasants with pitchforks” at anyone who asked about her protest.
While she seemed self-assured that she would get through security holding the pitchfork that she said was a sign and others said was a cheap garden rake, but security at the meeting wouldn’t have it, denying her entry with a weapon.
Benson argued with the Englewood police officer manning the security desk that the pitchfork/garden rake was not a weapon, but a sign, and preventing her from bringing in her not-a-weapon-but-a-sign was a direct violation of her first amendment rights.
She argued that she could take the plastic ear guards off of her glasses and use the wire ends of the glasses to stab people, so her glasses should be perceived as a weapon as well. The officer countered that the sign that was not a sign, but a pitchfork/garden rake, and could be construed as a weapon.
The officer further explained that just like if she had a gun, the possible weapon would not be allowed in the chambers. Outraged, Benson was aghast that the officer would equate her pitchfork/garden rake to a gun and the comparison was not fair and he should have known better than making that particular comparison.
This led to the officer left to consult Englewood police chief David Jackson, who walked with the officer into the city council chambers and ultimately told the officer that the pitchfork/rake was a weapon and there would be no weapons allowed in the meeting room.
Benson again objected, and when the officer’s shift supervisor arrived on scene, the shift supervisor went into the city council chambers and again confirmed that the sign was not a sign, but a pitchfork/garden rake and it could not come past security.
The YouTuber’s attempts to get both police officers to admit that they were actively violating her first amendment rights by not allowing the pitchfork/garden rake/sign into the meeting. Both men refused to do so.
During the commotion, Benson’s friend Sarah went into the Englewood city council chambers to sign them both up for public speaking slots. She told Sarah to write that Benson was from “Utopia” Colorado and then told Sarah to put that she was from Englewood and as much information as she was comfortable with sharing.
After Benson’s dramatic showdown with police was over and she left the sign that was not a sign, but a pitchfork/garden rake with the police officer at the security desk, Benson and Sarah entered the chambers to listen to public comments.
After several speakers, Benson was called on after Mayor Pro Tempe, Joe Anderson, skipped Sarah’s slot on the list to allow Benson to speak first. Benson commented on this development in her speech, stating that Anderson was playing games and Sarah’s speech depended on Benson doing cleanup for her afterwards.
Benson would go on to call the Englewood a “stupid city full of tyrants” and screamed at the council members that they would not stop disrespecting Sarah.
Following Benson’s remarks, Anderson ended public comment, explaining that there was a single person left to speak but that person, an Englewood resident, did not include their cross street and was disqualified from speaking due to the city council bylaws.
Anderson, however, was in error, as there was a second speaker he skipped over. Kevin Wright, husband to city council member Kim Wright had also been scheduled to speak and became vocal at being skipped over.
Admitting his error, Anderson took a five-minute recess. During the recess, he apologized to Kevin Wright and the men shook hands in the lobby outside of the city council chambers. Witnessing this, Benson began to scream at Anderson to apologize to Sarah for skipping her slot. Anderson walked away from Benson without a reply.
Benson told Sarah that Joe Anderson is the city council person for the district where her grandfather had lived in Englewood. The saga of Sarah’s grandfather’s house bas been an on-going focus for Benson, as the property was seized by Englewood police and her grandfather was forcibly evicted last year. He currently resides in a nursing home.
When the meeting reconvened, Anderson again explained that he had accidentally skipped Wright and issued an apology directly to Wright. Wright began his statement by apologizing to the city council for speaking out of turn and upon hearing this, Benson and Sarah left the city council chambers.
Benson retrieved the sign that was a pitchfork/garden rake and she and Sarah commiserated in the parking lot outside the building. The YouTuber was in the middle of joking that they would have their own public speaking event in the parking lot when her feed cut out and the livestream ended.
