They Hide in Plain Sight

How Christofascists are Infiltrating Northern Colorado Institutions

The term Christofascism invokes a lot of emotions within communities, fear, anxiety, and — for a select few — a twisted sense of pride. Ever since Donald Trump took office, far-right nationalist groups around the country have become emboldened to say the quiet part out loud — they desire a white, Christian, fascist government.

The Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance is one of these organizations that preaches hate and fascist rhetoric. Based in Northern Colorado they have been working their way into police forces, school systems, and the Colorado state government.

For context, and to wildly shorten the exact definition of Christofascism due to the scope of a single article, Christofascism is the use of Christian ideology to mask totalitarianism. It heavily bleeds into the modern-day American far-right. It’s something as simple as stating that certain people are God’s chosen people. Creating a hierarchy of people allows the justification of converting, persecuting, or eliminating other groups. This includes homophobia, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, misogyny, and xenophobia. These ideas are found within the National Socialist Party of Nazi Germany, the Proud Boys of modern-day America, the French Popular Front and the Italian Fascist movement.

Certain individuals with connections to the CCPA have found their way into Colorado institutions such as Colorado State University, The Weld County Sheriff’s Department, and the Colorado House of Representatives.

On the surface The Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance (CCPA) seems to be just another MAGA group. They hold political events, and fundraisers, blast political emails, and attend the occasional protest. However, this group is a dangerous organization that openly calls for the end of the LGBTQ+ community, women’s rights, and immigration of all kinds. They wish to keep Donald Trump and his supporters in power despite his well-documented crimes.

It’s important to note here that CCPA isn’t marching in neighborhoods in white robes with burning crosses, but their stated rhetoric parallels the definition of Christofascism and echoes of the KKK. The CCPA has statements to defend themselves against their opponents calling them what they are.

They claim that all religions are welcome yet use the term “Jews” in a derogatory sense in a statement that a Christian majority should be in power. They claim bodily autonomy is a core principle of the US yet promote anti-abortion ideas and groups such as 40 Days For Life. They go as far as to say the only working government is a small one with limited power, yet they advocate the federal government to halt all immigration, restrict gender and reproductive rights, and enforce a national religion. These are all core tenets of Christian nationalist ideology. Even the landing page of their main website features The National Conservatism: A Statement of Principles written by Will Chamberlain, Christopher DeMuth, Rod Dreher, and a few others. A vital quote ties the CCPA to the core tenets of Christofascim.

“The disintegration of the family, including a marked decline in marriage and childbirth, gravely threatens the wellbeing and sustainability of democratic nations. Among the causes are an unconstrained individualism that regards children as a burden, while encouraging ever more radical forms of sexual license and experimentation as an alternative to the responsibilities of family and congregational life.” – CCPA website.

This statement could be viewed as that marriage between a man and a woman is the only correct way to live, and that people — mainly women — need to give themselves to the church and their husbands to bear children. This level of misogyny and “alpha male” rhetoric is what almost every nationalist group has preached throughout all of history. Another infamous far-right leader had a similar quote to preach in his nationalist rhetoric and statement about workers’ struggles.

“To the German woman: Take hold of the cooking pan, dust pan, and broom and marry a man.” – Herman Goering of the German Nazi Party

To the average Coloradoan, chances are high that they have no clue who the CCPA is. Colorado is a majority left-leaning state and most people are generally not going as plugged into politics as the more extremists in the fold. The visibility of far-right figures is growing, just take a look at Matt Walsh and his reportedly transphobic 2022 documentary What is A Woman? The trailer alone has 34 million views on Youtube. Alex Jones – host of Info Wars – had his X (formerly Twitter) account reinstated in 2023 after getting deactivated in 2018. The account gained 800,000 followers in just three days. This appetite for far-right ideologues is driving the CCPA’s rising cultural prominence in Colorado. This idea was not lost on its current chairman and founder David Huntwork. Currently, he is writing and posting under the moniker David Hunt as his original Facebook page was removed. At the time of writing, the CCPA’s official Facebook group has just under 5,000 followers and Huntwork’s personal page The Sage’s Sanctuary has 2,000 followers.

Huntwork created the CCPA in 2021 as an offshoot of the national political party, The Conservative Patriot Alliance after his Facebook group The Patriot Brigade was taken down. The problematic content and further proof of the CCPA’s connection to Christofacist ideology are put on display through the current CCPA’s official media and promoted groups. While the CCPA is not outwardly white supremicist, Huntwork seemingly is throughout his social media posts. In 2018 Huntwork openly welcomed neo-nazi Jovi Vals into the removed Patriot Brigade page according to the Colorado Springs Anti-Fascist League. Below is more evidence of Huntwork’s rhetoric.

The following screen captures were provided by the Colorado Springs Anti-Fascist League.

Post made by Huntwork in support of Identitarians, a term for white supremacists used to avoid social media bans.

Post made by Huntwork cheering on the destruction of Palestine.

Huntwork (right) was photographed by the Colorado Springs Anti-Fascist League in 2019 with known Proud Boy Antonio Balderas (Left) in 2019 at a Drag Queen Story Hour protest in Northern Colorado.

Who exactly is David Huntwork? In short, he is a media blogger and far-right organizer. His conservative organizing career started in the late 90s as a writer. The majority of his content focuses on what the current CCPA is publishing. An undated article from early in his career titled Myths (and Truths) of the Illegal Immigration Invasion further proves his white nationalist rhetoric and hyperbolized fear of the other with the following quote.

“It is Mexico’s responsibility to reform its corrupt government and palsied economy. That won’t happen unless Mexico quits using the US as a dumping ground for its poor, its desperate, and its criminal element. Illegal immigration is the safety valve used by the Mexican government to prevent true reform from social pressure at home.” –  David Huntwork’s personal blog.

Purposely ignoring the years of shady geopolitical dealings in the global south, the war on drugs, and flawed immigration systems in the US, Huntwork’s argument is akin to Donald Trump’s statement in 2016 that Mexico is sending criminals and rapists so we have to build a border wall.

The article continues on to essentially state that immigration from Mexico is wrong and we need to stop immigrants from entering the United States at all costs. He has dozens of articles like the ones above throughout publications, social media, and personal blogs.

Huntwork did not respond to any request for comment.

Huntwork’s influence goes beyond being a far-right blogger and writer. His words via the CCPA have found their way into individuals working within the institutions stated above.

Rob Adams (left) at a Patriot Dinner and Drinks event on 5/30/21 in Severance, CO

Rob Adams is seemingly a personal friend of Huntwork and an alleged member of the CCPA. He has been photographed at several CCPA events with Huntwork. At the time of writing, Adams works in the Colorado State University (CSU FT.) Admissions Office as an Administrative Assistant. His main role is processing travel and other tasks for Administrative staff. Adams has been seen on almost every Facebook page run by Huntwork and his team. With these actions, Adams has engaged in racist, transphobic, and anti-Islamic rhetoric.

Adams has since attempted to scrub a lot of these posts and he has locked down the majority of his social media and hasn’t interacted with the CCPA in public, however, the CCPA has yet to disavow Adams in any way.

Adams comments supporting Huntwork, via Facebook page now defunct. Example 1

Adams comments supporting Huntwork, via Facebook page now defunct. Example 2

Adams comments supporting Huntwork, via Facebook page now defunct. Example 3.

For the CSU FT. connection, Adams does not hold any direct power within the Admissions Office. However, it does beg the question, if a known Christian nationalist can hold a position in the admissions office at a publicly funded university, why hasn’t CSU FT. removed him from their self-promoted ethnically diverse school? At the time of writing, the CSU FT. class of 2023 has roughly 30% non-white students and currently zero students identifying as another gender Via Colorado State University.

Colorado State University Director of Crisis Communications and Public Information Officer Nik Olsen confirmed that Adams is still working in their Admissions department. Olsen responded to follow-up questions regarding Adams’s connection to the CCPA and Proud Boys. “Here is CSU’s policy on free speech and information on employee responsibilities: Additionally, here is CSU’s media release regarding its fall 2023 enrollment, which was the third largest incoming class in CSU history – 30 percent of the incoming class was racially or ethnically diverse.”

The CCPA and Huntwork’s rhetoric extends past a single position at a state university. At the last official CCPA event in June of 2023, Captain Matt Turner of the Weld County Sheriff’s Department, speaking on behalf of elected Sheriff Steven Reams, was slated to give a speech at their Flag Day Celebration Picnic. Exactly what was said was lost as the Weld County Sheriff’s office didn’t respond to our request for comment and no public videos of the event have been found yet we encourage anyone with more information to email [email protected].

A publicly elected police official speaking at an event held by Christofascists sets a dangerous precedent. Police departments are supposed to be unbiased in the protection of their communities, so why would a high-ranking member of the force be speaking at a political event like this? Furthermore, to do so in uniform suggests that the department as a whole stands behind the CCPA’s ideology. Across the limited social media that Sheriff Steven Reams has, there are connections between official CCPA pages, Huntwork’s personal account, and the Sheriff.

At this same event, House Representative of Colorado for the 48th district of Adams and Weld County, Gabe Evans was a keynote speaker. This doesn’t mean that Evans is a member of the CCPA but his actions imply he holds sympathy for the CCPA’s beliefs.

In November 2022, the CCPA hosted a “Red Wave Rally” at the Sundance Saloon in Fort Collins, CO. The event was fairly average for right-wing political rallies. Anyone who has watched a Fox News segment will have already seen highlights of similar events.

Matt Turner (center) conversing with members of the CCPA at June 2023 rally

From the CCPA website, the following people spoke:

• Heidi Ganahl – Governor
• Greg Lopez – Governor
• Rep. Ron Hanks – US Senate
• Tina Peters – Secretary of State
• Marshall Dawson – Congressional District 2
• Bob Lewis – Congressional District 4
• Tyler Allcorn – Congressional District 8
• Lori Saine – Congressional District 8
• Cody LeBlanc – CD8 State Board of Education
• Peggy Propst – CD8 State Board of Education
• Elijah Hatch – Weld County Commissioner At-Large
• Larimer County Sheriff – Jeff Fisher
• Terry DeGroot – House District 48
• Gabe Evans – House District 48
• Ryan Gonzalez – House District 50
• Austin Hein – House District 51
• Hugh McKean – House District 51
• Dee Dee Vicino – House District 52
• Donna Walter – House District 53
• Ryan Armagost – House District 64
• Mike Lynch – House District 65

Most of these people lost their races but their involvement with a Christofascist group heavily implies their willingness to use hate and oppression to obtain power, and possibly their true desire for a Christofascist future. The CCPA released a statement:

“The Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance does not endorse candidates in the Republican Party primary process, but we do strongly believe in providing a forum for interested candidates to introduce themselves, share their message, and meet those interested and involved in local activist politics.”

Regardless of what the CCPA says, by speaking at an event hosted by a Christian nationalist group and not speaking out against their hate, this type of rhetoric is allowed to grow and infect more of the powers that control this state.