A special session meant to provide property tax relief saw more than its fair share of drama at Colorado’s state Capitol, topped by pro-Palestinian protests that shut down the House multiple times and drew the support of two Democratic legislators. 

The two Democrats raised eyebrows for backing the protesters, who waved Palestinian flags and shouted in the House gallery both on Saturday and on Monday, when lawmakers hunkered down to pass legislation that reduced the assessment ratio and increased the amount homeowners can claim for exemption when calculating tax liability.  

The actions of Rep. Elisabeth Epps, a Democrat from Denver, drew the most attention.

On Sunday, as the day’s work in the House approached the midnight hour, Epps attempted an amendment to the Senate bill on a federal food and nutrition program that sought to ban the state from purchasing food made in “occupied territories.” 

Epps’ amendment was declared as not fitting under the title of the measure, a ruling sought by one of her usual allies, Rep. Lorena Garcia of Adams County, a co-sponsor of the bill.

Epps took to social media throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning, blasting Garcia and co-sponsor Rep. Shannon Bird of Westminster, claiming they were liars and that they had said they would not seek a title ruling on the amendment.

Epps also blasted Rep. Mike Weissman of Aurora, whom she said she had an encounter with in the state parking garage at 12:45 Monday morning.

“Shame on you,” Epps said she told Weissman.

The Denver Democrat wasn’t done. 

When the bill came up for its final vote on Monday, Epps tried once again to get her amendment on the bill. She was denied permission on a 39-21 vote, with 32 Democrats – including the House Speaker, Majority Leader and Speaker Pro tem – voting with the majority.

As she left the House podium, she shouted, “Free Palestine!”

That drew Rep. Ron Weinberg, a Loveland Republican who is Jewish, to the podium.

Weinberg had issued a statement the day before, saying some of the protesters made anti-Semitic remarks. 

Before he could speak, Epps went up to the House gallery to join the protesters, who were once again waving Palestinian flags, shouting at lawmakers, and shutting down the House proceedings. She stayed there for more than an hour, while House leaders from both parties talked about how to proceed.

Republicans insisted that Weinberg should be given wide latitude to address Epps’ remarks, saying the Democrats had allowed her to speak without rebuke.

Once the House reconvened, Weinberg was surrounded by his Republican colleagues at the podium, while every Democratic lawmaker also stood in support, a common practice when someone is speaking on a personal issue. 

Epps continued to yell at Weinberg from the House gallery as he spoke.

“I’ve done everything in my power … to uplift people in all walks of life,” Weinberg began.

He thanked the Democratic leadership for their leniency, as well as his minority leader, for keeping the caucus calm. 

“We are not enemies. It is for our constituents to see we can get along,” he said. “It took me months to convince people that the national stage and circus is not in this chamber.”

Many lawmakers are true friends, Jews and Gentiles alike, men and women, he added.

“This past four days has truly been hard because I came from a session of bipartisanship to a special session of nothing,” he said. “I ask you to stand with me today, be the example this state needs. We are sick of the division. We are not enemies. We are allowed to have different principles and thoughts, but we can come to the table and fix the problems of this state. Everything else is meaningless.”

He condemned the atrocities going on around the world, then asked that lawmakers to stand united to take care of business.

If not, he said, “What good are we to the people we represent?”

Rep. David Ortiz, D-Centennial, later criticized Epps, stating on X: “This is embarrassing … for us & for the people of Colorado. Weinberg wasn’t sitting in the gallery with protestors of his own interrupting Epps. Some people are here to do work … others are here to put on a performance & act like petulant children.”

House rule 23(b) states that “no member shall engage in loud private discourse or commit any other act tending to distract the attention of the House from the business before it.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters also disrupted the session in the House on Saturday, as they draped flags and banners in the House gallery and shouted at lawmakers, including yelling, “Blood on your hands.”

The protests were cheered by several lawmakers, including Rep. Tim Hernandez, D-Denver, who said in a post on X that he is “standing in strong solidarity with Coloradans who bravely stood up and disrupted our job this morning calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza. Over a majority of Americans now support a Ceasefire. I urge my colleagues to listen.”

Hernandez also replaced the U.S. flag on his desk Saturday with a Palestinian flag. He was among a group of Democratic lawmakers, including Reps. Iman Jodeh, who is Palestinian-American, Javier Mabry, Andrew Boesenecker, Jennifer Bacon, and Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, who met with the protesters after they were removed from the gallery.

The disruption wasn’t the only drama during the session.

In the Senate, Republicans attempted to force an extra day in the session, pointing out that Senate Democrats had failed to send out a letter that would allow them to suspend certain rules around debate. 

The rules require either a three-day notice or a two-thirds vote to allow lawmakers to proceed into what’s known as “special orders” debate on a bill that had not been previously calendared.

Democrats are a vote shy of that supermajority and no Republican would cross over to provide the 24th vote.

Senate President Steve Fenberg then called for a second vote and announced the motion had passed. Sen. Bob Gardner of Colorado Springs, the Republicans’ rule master, called for a roll call vote, but Fenberg claimed he wasn’t asked in time. The rules don’t spell out a timeframe for making that request.

After several hours’ delay, Fenberg inexplicably said they were done for the day and the debate, which was tied to Senate Bill 1, the main property tax bill, would proceed on Saturday.