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Last Wednesday morning, before the world became transfixed by dystopian images of insurrectionists storming the US Capitol with Confederate flags and zip ties, the first traumatic displacement (“houseless sweep”) of 2021 was executed in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. More than a dozen police officers were on site by 6 AM, guarding all possible access points to the fenced-off encampment, ensuring that the handful of mutual aid workers present were unable to “interfere” as city workers and private contractors destroyed property and forcibly evicted ~20 unhoused residents living near 29th and Tremont.
Six hours later, a crowd of nearly 1,000 fanatical Trump supporters gathered at Denver’s Capitol for a Stop the Steal rally, echoing the same deranged rhetoric as the conspiracy-drunk mob of racists in Washington who were simultaneously attempting to derail democracy and overturn an election. The perimeter of the rally in Denver was patrolled not by the police, but by cosplay crews of right-wing paramilitary types, along with a squadron of Proud Boys decked out like fascist bumblebees on the south side of the building. A few bike cops were casually stationed behind the Capitol, out of sight and well away from the action, while a police truck with a half-dozen officers hanging on the sides lazily circled the block every 5-10 minutes, essentially participating in the white power parade. All told, there were roughly the same number of police officers assigned to secure the fascist therapy session at the state capitol as there were at the exponentially smaller unhoused sweep that same morning.
Despite Wednesday’s attempted coup by the deplorable detritus of Trump’s America, the business of traumatizing citizens in Denver continued without interruption. On Thursday morning, another unhoused “sweep” was carried out, this time at 11th and Acoma, where ten police vehicles were counted before the sun even rose, even though the camp was only home to two dozen residents. Of those cleared out on Thursday morning, one person was given a short-term motel voucher; the rest were scattered out across the city to find a new home for a few days—or weeks, if they’re lucky—before inevitably being swept again.
The events of the past week confirmed an undeniable reality of this city—when confronting a vulnerable or BIPOC population in Denver, the chest-thumping police presence is overwhelming, with fingers itching on their triggers. However, when faced with an unpredictable mob of partially armed and fully rabid insurrectionists, that same police department opts for a hands-off approach, letting the demonstrators foment their hate in peace.
Monday, January 11th is also the third and final day of a landmark federal case leveled against the city by Denver Homeless Out Loud. The plaintiffs claim that, under the direction of Mayor Michael Hancock, Denver is violating constitutional rights by displacing unhoused residents with nowhere else to go. These actions brazenly contradict the pandemic protocols of the CDC, which advise against any unnecessary movement of unhoused populations. As the lawsuit states:
“The CDC issued this guidance because conducting sweeps significantly increases the risk to homeless individuals and the community, of infection with COVID-19. Despite this clear warning, the defendants chose to act in direct contradiction of public health guidance and to violate the property and due process rights of homeless individuals in a cruel and dangerous manner.”
If the plaintiffs win this case— and the evidence presented thus far has been strongly in their favor— there will be an injunction against additional sweeps, halting them for the time being.
It is increasingly clear that despite the gleam of vaccines at the end of our isolated tunnels, a great deal of darkness still lies ahead. In case you missed this amidst a holiday hangover, more than 11,000 Americans died as a result of Covid-19 in the last 3 days of 2020. In the first week of the new year, our country averaged 2,800 deaths per day, including 4,100 on January 6. We also saw 300,000+ new cases in a single day for the very first time on January 8. Regularly destabilizing and scattering unhoused residents into new communities puts their lives in direct and preventable jeopardy, not only from Covid, but also from the unforgiving elements of a Colorado winter. These policy choices are causing more deaths, but the city appears indifferent.
Even with the threat of an injunction looming, and temperatures flirting with freezing every night this week, more traumatic displacements are scheduled in the days ahead— Wednesday, January 13 (Wesley and S. Galapago).
These scheduled actions will bring the total number of unhoused sweeps during the pandemic to 39.
The vicious campaign against Denver’s unhoused population has been relentless, but community opposition and outrage is rising. A new coalition of mutual aid and advocacy groups, aligned under the #messagetothemayor campaign, is conducting a “people’s audit” of the sweeps, due to the city’s lack of transparency on the ballooning costs of these operations. This action-oriented coalition has rapidly assembled research and media teams, along with the resources and frontline experience from multiple organizations (Allies to Abolitionists, Denver Homeless Out Loud, Headwater Protectors, All In Denver, Interfaith Alliance, Headroom Sessions & Hope Tank).
They plan to request invoices, analyze public records, and develop full budget summaries to demonstrate the egregious waste of sweeps, as opposed to utilizing those funds for dignified and permanent housing solutions. The increased coverage and frequency of these traumatic, taxpayer-funded displacements has bred disgust with the city’s thuggish strategy and the Mayor’s ham-handed oversight, driving determined activists to rattle the cages and demand real change.
The past year’s barrage of interconnected crises highlighted America’s long tradition of failure— or disinterest— in considering the lives of its most vulnerable, essential, and oppressed populations. The political and economic forces of this country have shown criminal negligence and a careless approach to human life that has not revealed a broken system, but rather one that is operating precisely as designed, working towards the ultimate goals of profit and power for those at the controls.
Denver may be a mile higher than our nation’s capital, but when it comes to prejudicial policing, corrupt governance, and a dangerous tolerance for white supremacy, the two cities clearly have the same perspective
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