The NAACP is investigating after a family of Black Colorado ranchers was arrested on felony charges following their years-long complaints of alleged harassment from their white neighbors.
Courtney and Nicole Mallery were arrested Monday on felony charges for alleged stalking, 9News reported. The arrest came after the Black farmers filed multiple restraining orders against El Paso County resident whom they said vandalized their property and attacked their livestock.
For two
years, the Mallerys have accused their local community, Freedom Acres Ranch, of targeting their farm in repeated attempts to force them out. The married couple is also calling out an El Paso County deputy who said the couple instigated attacks against their land.“Unfortunately, there are still corrupt police and racist people out there who are trying to block minority farmers from using their agricultural land because of their race,” the Mallerys’ statement said.
“In Colorado Springs, the Mallerys are the most recent victims of this blatant racism and vitriol.”
On Monday, an Instagram page under the name “Black Farmland Owners Matter” posted a video Nicole Mallery filmed of the Courtney Mallery’s arrest. Reports later confirmed both of their arrests.
Online civil court records show the Mallerys filed six restraining orders against people in their community. In December, a woman applied for a restraining order against Courtney Mallery with claims he was harassing and stalking her.
El Paso County sheriff Joe Roybal denied the racism accusations on behalf of the sheriff’s office, KRDO reported. The office also called for the Black and Latino Coalition to coordinate a meeting with the Mallerys to address their concerns.
Now, in wake of the Mallerys’ arrest, the Rocky Mountain NAACP has gotten involved in the investigation.
“I would really hope that the El Paso County Sheriff’s department and several others in rural areas understand that we’re taking this very seriously,” Portia Prescott, president of the Rocky Mountain NAACP, said.
“It needs to be taken a lot more seriously than they have taken it in the past.”