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Denver man says he was threatened for supporting Democratic candidate

Posted at 2:24 PM, Jun 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-18 01:30:31-04

DENVER – A man called Denver Police after he believes he was targeted and threatened for supporting a candidate running for Colorado governor.

The man said his family was terrified after someone put a target practice paper with multiple bullet holes in his backyard just one day after he put up a sign for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in his front yard.

Ryan requested that his last name not be used because he is worried for his family.

Ryan is outspoken about his support for Mike Johnston, a former state legislator who is running for governor of Colorado in 2018.

“I put the sign in my yard Friday night,” Ryan said. “On Saturday morning, I found an NRA target in my backyard. It seemed like somebody was trying to target me because of my political beliefs. I don’t think that’s justified.”

Johnston’s concern surrounding the National Rifle Association has been a big part of his campaign.

DPD confirmed they are currently investigating this as a crime.

Though the target sheet has the NRA logo, there isn’t any way to prove the person who did this is a member.

Denver7 spoke with Johnston about the matter.

“This makes me furious,” Johnston said. “I have a friend of mine who has kids who are terrified because they think they’re going to be targeted with threats or violence.”

Johnston posted the pictures of Ryan holding the target sheet to raise awareness, but there are some on the social media platform that are criticizing this as a political move.

“Our families and our kids are targets to these types of threats,” Johnston said. “To think this would be something staged not only is insulting, but it’s the kind of argument people make when they don’t have any substantive why we should condemn this.”