🤔 The real story of that viral video of Rep. DeGette

📹 Inside the Viral Confrontation with Rep. Diana DeGette

A video went viral last week showing Denver’s Congresswoman Diana DeGette in a heated confrontation with local activists over her position on military aid to Israel. The video racked up thousands of likes, shares, and comments, particularly about the moment when DeGette can be seen putting her hand on one of the activist’s shoulders. But the video clips circulating on social media are conspicuously edited, so we wanted to know: What really went down? And what’s the real disagreement behind the confrontation?

• The state of the race: DeGette is currently running for re-election to represent Denver in Congress, but she has two challengers – CU Regent Wanda James and Melat Kiros, who “trounced” DeGette in a Denver Dems’ straw poll earlier this month.
• Why does it matter? Unlike other local and state elections where the offices have little power to shape the U.S. relationship with Israel and the Palestinians, the winner of the Democratic primary to represent Denver in Congress will likely have a key vote on the nearly $4 billion in military aid the U.S. provides Israel annually.
• Who is the activist in the video? Nicole Shea Niebler is a Denver hub coordinator for Sunrise Movement, which is the group that first shared the video. She tells City Cast Denver that she showed up to Cohesion Brewing “anxious and nervous” to ask DeGette some questions because she didn’t feel like the congresswoman was representing her values. “But when we got into territory where we disagreed, it was less friendly and more combative.”

Apart from the political theater, where do the candidates actually stand on the issue?

• What is DeGette’s position? Niebler walked away before DeGette was able to explain her position on military aid to Israel, which she has changed since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. 2023. She said in a statement to City Cast Denver: “While I have supported U.S. aid for defensive weapons to Israel, like the Iron Dome, I oppose future offensive weapons sales to Israel and have recently voted against them.” DeGette declined an interview about the confrontation with Niebler.
• Where does Melat Kiros stand on the issue? Kiros, who lost her job at a law firm over an ideological stance she took on Gaza, tells City Cast Denver that she doesn’t support any military aid without conditions. She adds, “specifically, the end of the genocide in Palestine, an end to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon … and an end to the war in Iran that Israel dragged us into.”
• What about Wanda James? The third candidate in the Democratic primary race told us last week she had submitted 3,105 signatures, which would be more than double the 1,500 required to get on the primary ballot in June if they are verified. However, she did not respond to our request for her position on military aid to Israel.

We got an unedited version of the video, and we’re dissecting it on the podcast today:

🧑‍🌾 A Farmers’ Market is Headed to Harvey Park

Harvey Park Farmers Market will open on May 2 in the parking lot of the Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy with over 50 stalls selling all the things you might find on a typical grocery list. The market space features vendors offering produce, dairy products, baked goods, and more, plus specialty food companies like Get Right’s Bakery, Hummus Capara, and Cultura Chocolate. The space will also host a playground, a pavilion for live music, and plenty of room to hang out. [Westword]

• When can I go? The market will be open 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. Saturdays through October

🤧 Got The Spring Sniffles?

March 20 was the first official day of spring, but for many of us (myself included), we’ve been in the allergy trenches. Experts are saying that no, you’re not imagining it, allergy season did start early this year due to lack of frosts this winter. They also say that the wildfires Colorado is at higher risk for can set off allergies due to even more stuff flying around in the air (think particles from burning trees or structures.)

• Hack? The experts at National Jewish Health recommend taking allergy meds before spring hits, but if you didn’t make that deadline they also recommend an injectable treatment called biologics for some people. (Make sure to talk to your doctor about what makes sense for you!) [Colorado Public Radio]

🍃 Is Denver Still Smoking Weed?

A cannabis grow facility is set to shutter in May, with 132 employees losing jobs in cultivation, data, farming, and production. PharmaCann Inc., parent company of LivWell, will close its north Denver facility on May 20.

• A trend? Cannabis sales have been declining in the state for years after peaking in 2021. [🎧 City Cast Denver]

🎥 License Plate Camera Vote Delayed

Denver City Council delayed its vote Monday night on a contract to replace the controversial Flock license plate cameras with a different company, Axon. Council’s vote will be pushed back one week, so council members have time to review questions and public input. [9News]

• What’s in the new contract? The contract with Axon would reduce the number of license plate reading cameras to 50 (less than half the amount Flock has), and reduce the number of days the data is retained from 30 to 21. [CBS] Axon also does not have a national database; Flock faced serious backlash when data had been shared from cameras with ICE agents from its national database. [9News]
• Mayor Johnston defends the city’s use of surveillance tech: “We want to be able to use technology to keep the city safe in a way that still protects everyone’s civil liberties,” the mayor told us last fall, with the caveat that there is no expectation of privacy in public spaces. “I think there is a way to do both.” Then last month, he explained why he wants to ditch Flock in favor of Axon. [🎧 City Cast Denver]

💸 A Win For Workers’ Wages

Denver Labor released its 2025 annual wage theft report, showing over $2.31 million in restitution recovered for workers in Denver. The group investigated 859 wage theft cases, and awarded compensation for lost wages to over 4,000 workers. [Denver Labor]

• Remember our coverage of the strip clubs? That was Denver Labor’s largest wage theft case ever. You can listen to us discuss that case and other wage theft instances with the executive director of Denver Labor Matthew Fritz-Mauer. [🎧 City Cast Denver]