By Ariane Frosh

In July of 2021, Pikes Peak area activists organized a housing rights march to bring awareness to the region’s increasing unaffordability. Lying in wait, however, was the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD); they had been spying on these activists for several years.

CSPD went on to arrest leaders of the march and other activists and then executed a series of invasive searches and seizures. Police officers seized the personal devices of an activist and an organization’s Facebook page, then searched for dubious keywords like “human,” “right” and “cop.” A federal appeals court would later deem this search unconstitutional.

Thouhh Colorado Springs police and the city bore the brunt of legal liability, they did not act alone. The FBI provided critical support in the searches — a clear example of federal officials, acting under color of law, violating the constitutional rights of Coloradans.

Similar scenes of federal overreach have played out across our state, with no federal agency exemplifying these abuses more viscerally than Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE agents have smashed the windows of cars with infants inside, thrown flash bangs into rooms where children slept and collaborated with other federal law enforcement agencies to carry out harrowing raids of homes, apartments, work sites and nightclubs.

Currently, the victims of these violations have had little recourse to hold federal officials accountable in court. But now, some Colorado lawmakers are trying to change that.

The No Kings Act, introduced by state senators Mike Weismann and Julie Gonzales as SB26-176, would close this accountability loophole and allow Coloradans to sue a federal official for violating the U.S. Constitution. This means, for example, parents unlawfully torn from their children by ICE or activists targeted by the FBI would have a pathway to justice. By making it easier for victims to seek a legal remedy, the No Kings Act would create accountability on the federal level ensuring that no government official is above the law.

However, Colorado district attorneys, and the Colorado District Attorneys Council (CDAC), have created serious headwinds for the No Kings Act based on unfounded speculation and fear. Their misplaced outrage incorrectly claims a risk to their own bottom line and seeks instead to sacrifice the constitutional rights of all Coloradans. CDAC and individual district attorneys have wrongfully claimed the No Kings Act would cause a barrage of civil lawsuits against district attorneys and other state and local government employees. This is simply not accurate.

This bill does not change liability for state and local officials. Coloradans already have the right to sue state and local officials under a federal law in place since before Colorado became a state. That federal law allows Coloradans to sue state and local officials for violations of the U.S. Constitution for monetary damages — and has been an effective tool since 1871. These cases can be brought in state or federal courts. In these cases, courts have allowed absolute or qualified-immunity defenses for such officials, which the No Kings Act explicitly maintains. By expanding cause of action to any person acting under color of law, the No Kings Act creates parity among state, local, and federal officials. Simply put, the No Kings Act does not change liability for state and local officials.

Though our leaders have expressed outrage at the federal government’s actions, they are hesitant to put their money where their mouth is. Whether Colorado’s district attorneys intend it or not, by attempting to block this bill with insider politics, they are implicitly giving the Trump administration, and bad federal actors, the green light to continue these reckless actions with impunity. Most upsetting for their constituents, lawmakers risk leaving victims behind.

Our leaders have a duty to keep us safe — a duty that extends to protecting us from abuses of government power. Families, workers, and others cannot be left to suffer the brunt of these excesses without any path to justice. As we all bear witness to the federal government’s appalling overreach, we cannot allow our leaders to cave to panic and confusion. Colorado lawmakers must follow through on their bold promises and work to make the No Kings Act law.

Ariane Frosh serves as policy counsel for the ACLU of Colorado. Frosh has worked extensively with the sponsors of Senate Bill 26-176, the bill named the No Kings Act, which the ACLU of Colorado supports.