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| Home Front: Politix |
| Colorado deputies violated new state law when sharing information with federal immigration agents |
| 2025-08-02 |
| [FoxNews] Mesa County deputies Alexander Zwinck and Erik Olson were placed on unpaid leave after sharing information with ICE following traffic stops Two Colorado deputies have been disciplined for sharing information with federal immigration agents, which is a violation of state law enacted a few months ago. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued Mesa County Sheriff's Deputy Alexander Zwinck last week after his cooperation with federal immigration agents on a drug task force was exposed during a Brazilian college student's arrest for an expired visa, according to The Associated Press. While addressing the incident on Thursday, Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell said Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a 19-year-old nursing student, was pulled over by Zwinck for a traffic stop on June 5 after she was allegedly driving too close to a semi-truck. While Dias-Goncalves was released with a warning after about 20 minutes, federal immigration agents stopped her and arrested her shortly after. Zwinck had shared her location and a description of her vehicle in a group chat that included ICE agents, Rowell said. She was arrested by ICE and taken to a detention facility, where she was held for 15 days before being released on bond. An internal investigation revealed a second Mesa County deputy and task force member, Erik Olson, also shared immigration information with federal agents. The two deputies used a Signal chat to offer information to federal agents in an effort to assist immigration enforcement, according to the sheriff's office. Zwinck was placed on three weeks of unpaid leave and Olson was placed on two weeks of unpaid leave, Rowell said in a statement. Both were removed from the task force. Two supervisors were also disciplined, with one suspended without pay for two days and another receiving a letter of reprimand. A third supervisor received counseling. "The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office should not have had any role in the chain of events leading to Miss Dias-Goncalves’ detention, and I regret that this occurred. I apologize to Miss Dias-Goncalves," Rowell said. Zwinck was sued under a new state law signed by Democrat Gov. Jared Polis about two weeks before Dias-Goncalves' arrest. The measure prohibits local government employees, including law enforcement, from sharing identifying information about people with federal immigration officials. Previously, only state agencies were barred from sharing such information. The law is one of several passed over the years limiting the state's involvement in immigration enforcement. It has led to a lawsuit from the Department of Justice, which alleges that the protective policies violate the U.S. Constitution or federal immigration laws. Related: Colorado: 2025-07-30 Outmigration Is Killing Illinois, and Democrats Can't Fix It Colorado: 2025-07-25 USDA to vacate several Washington buildings, relocate staff to regional hubs Colorado: 2025-07-18 Mexico set to be torn apart as drug kingpin El Chapo's son prepares to tell US prosecutors 'everything he knows' |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #2 Federal Law exceeds State and local Law. BTW: Signal is not the secure SMS app it once was. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-08-02 10:28 |
| #1 Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser took the bait. Obstruction of federal law and conspiracy. Since the action occurred in Mesa County, that's where the feds can set the trial. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-08-02 06:39 |