A Colorado political action group focused on gun issues has withdrawn its endorsement of a state House candidate after discovering several tweets it says contradicted his responses to a candidate questionnaire. 

Colorado Ceasefire, which calls itself a “grassroots gun violence prevention organization,” has withdrawn its endorsement of Bryan Lindstrom, a candidate for House District 36 in eastern Aurora. 

In response, Lindstrom insisted that his answers to the questionnaire “were not inconsistent with my past social media communications.”

“Throughout the questionnaire, I hit on nuances of ‘going upstream to reduce gun violence’ and how outright bans are not my preferred approach to policy,” he told Colorado Politics. 

“As an Aurora teacher, I have experienced gun violence first hand with the shooting of my assistant principal and the school shooting where I teach. This is an issue I care deeply about. However, I also know that more, stricter laws oftentimes lead to more and worse police interactions for our BIPOC communities,” he said, adding, “I support evidence based gun violence prevention and always have. At the end of the day, I will address every piece of legislation in a way that protects our working class and communities of color.”

In an email sent to Lindstrom’s opponent, Michael Carter, Ceasefire said its board voted to rescind Lindstrom’s endorsement due to “inconsistent” messaging in tweets that do not align with the group’s views. Ceasefire had initially co-endorsed both Lindstrom and Carter. 

“Parents and children shouldn’t have to live in fear of gun violence,” Carter said in response. “As a proud father and school board member, I’m honored to have the exclusive endorsement of Colorado Ceasefire.” 

In a 2020 tweet, Lindstrom, a schoolteacher, said he “used to be for gun bans” and supported the state’s red flag law but has since changed his opinion due to the affect of background checks on communities of color.

And in a 2021 tweet, he argued that gun control “has always been racist and classist.” In another, he said he is “super pro gun.” 

While many of Lindstrom’s statements align with progressive policies, they contradicted the responses Lindstrom gave in his candidate questionnaire and are inconsistent with the group’s views, Dave Plank, Ceasefire’s communications director, said. 

“Accordingly, we have rescinded our endorsement of Mr. Lindstrom,” he said. 

Several of Lindstrom’s tweets, especially that those dealt with race, also faced criticism. In an October 2020 tweet, he said that “gangs are the response to racist capitalism and can be good.”