Stand Up for Colorado: Weekly Protest Against Rep. Gabe Evans’ Trump-Aligned Agenda
Every Friday — Join us!
Enough is Enough
Since taking office in January 2025, Representative Gabe Evans has consistently aligned himself with Donald Trump’s agenda on issue after issue, saying one thing and doing another — and Colorado’s 8th District is paying the price. We’re supporting activist groups in his district by attending weekly Friday protests to hold him accountable.
Rep. Gabe Evans represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. On his website, he presents himself as a champion of working families — someone who wants to lower prices, protect communities, and stand up for everyday Coloradans. But his voting record and public statements tell a very different story. Here is what you need to know.
The Issues at a Glance
Voted to continue the Iran war — costing lives and spiking gas prices
- Claims to want lower prices — then voted to uphold tariffs that drive prices up
- Claims to target “gangsters, not grandmas” — but supports an administration deporting people with no criminal records
- Lies about his own family’s immigration history to justify mass deportation
- Voted YES on the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — corporate giveaways paid for by working families
- Misrepresents sanctuary policies to stoke fear rather than solve problems
- Voted YES on the Laken Riley Act — threatening due process for immigrants
- Supports school vouchers that drain public schools — while homeschooling his own children
- Refuses to hold town halls — leaving constituents with no way to hold him accountable.
The Iran War: Costing Lives and Spiking Gas Prices
In early 2026, President Trump launched military operations against Iran with no clear objective, no exit strategy, and no public mandate. Evans didn’t just cheer it on — he voted to let Trump continue the war without any congressional oversight, abandoning one of Congress’s most fundamental responsibilities. The war is costing lives — American and otherwise — and is running at an estimated $1 billion per day. The reasons Evans gives for supporting this war are unconvincing at best and misleading at worst, suggesting his real motivation is simply falling in line with Trump.
The economic consequences for Colorado families have been swift and severe. Evans had spent months taking credit for falling gas prices, posting on social media about declining costs at the pump and writing op-eds celebrating energy wins he attributed to Republican policy. As the conflict entered its tenth day, oil prices surged above $100 a barrel as fears of a prolonged conflict sent shock waves through global energy markets. Here in Colorado, the average price for unleaded gasoline jumped more than 50 cents per gallon in a single week — effectively wiping out all the gas price relief Coloradans had seen since Trump returned to office.
Coloradans deserve a representative who treats the loss of human life as more than a footnote — not one who cheers falling gas prices one month and votes for a deadly, costly war the next.
Tariffs: Saying One Thing, Doing Another on Prices
On his issues page, Evans says he wants to lower inflation and bring prices down for Colorado families. But in February 2026, he voted to uphold Trump’s sweeping tariffs — taxes on imported goods that economists broadly agree drive consumer prices higher. You cannot claim to want lower prices while voting to impose the very policies that cause them to rise. Rep. Evans is counting on his constituents not to notice the contradiction.
“Gangsters, Not Grandmas” — Except That’s Not What’s Happening
Evans has repeatedly claimed that immigration enforcement should target criminals — not law-abiding families. In a December 2024 op-ed, Evans wrote that “America must prioritize deporting gangsters, not grandmas,” adding that long-term immigrants who are working and not causing problems are “not a top priority.”
The reality of Trump’s deportation operation — which Evans has consistently supported — is starkly different. Data covering ICE arrests from January through October 2025 showed that more than a third of the roughly 220,000 people arrested had no criminal histories — nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records swept up in operations the administration claimed would target only the most dangerous offenders. By February 2026, the picture had grown even more troubling: TRAC data showed that 73.6% of the 68,289 people then held in ICE detention had no criminal convictions — and many of those who did had committed only minor offenses such as traffic violations.
Colorado families have felt this directly. In May 2025, CPR News reported on a Colorado family — including a child — detained by federal authorities when they showed up for a routine immigration court check-in. When confronted with this evidence that ordinary families, not criminals, were being targeted, Evans simply repeated his claim that ICE was going after “gangsters, not grandmas.
In 2026, Evans voted to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security with no restrictions on ICE and CBP conduct — even as documented incidents of agent misconduct raised serious concerns, and even as two U.S. citizens were killed in immigration enforcement actions.
Evans’ Own Family Story Doesn’t Hold Up
Evans frequently invokes his grandfather’s immigration story as justification for strict enforcement — arguing that immigrants should follow the “legal” path his grandfather took. But reporting by Colorado News Line found that the evidence does not support Evans’ characterization of his grandfather’s immigration history. Using his own family’s story to lecture immigrants about “doing it the right way,” while that story turns out to be more complicated than he lets on, is exactly the kind of hypocrisy that erodes public trust.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill”: Corporate Giveaways, Community Harm
Rep. Evans also voted YES on what Republicans call the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—legislation that prioritizes massive corporate tax breaks while putting millions of Americans’ health coverage and food security at risk.
The real-world consequences:
Here are the devastating impacts of this legislation:
Healthcare Crisis: Could force the closure of over 300 rural hospitals and remove 17 million Americans from health insurance
Medicaid Devastation: Threatens to gut Medicaid coverage, directly harming low-income families and patients who rely on community health centers
Children Going Hungry: Would cut nutritional assistance for 4.2 million children by reversing bipartisan SNAP exemptions for vulnerable groups
Economic Inequality: Tax provisions designed to benefit the wealthy, while putting 1.75 million construction jobs at risk
Student Debt Burden: Increases student loan payments for young people already struggling financially
As the Center for American Progress and other advocacy organizations have noted, this isn’t governance—it’s a “big beautiful betrayal” of working families.
Sanctuary Policies: Fear-Mongering Over Facts
On his issues page, Rep. Evans conflates Colorado’s sanctuary-related policies with the presence of cartels and criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua. This is a deliberate misrepresentation. Sanctuary policies are grounded in a straightforward principle: local law enforcement should focus on community safety, not serve as an extension of federal immigration enforcement. These policies are designed to ensure that immigrants — including crime victims and witnesses — can interact with police without fear, which actually improves public safety outcomes. Linking these policies to cartel activity is fear-mongering, plain and simple.
The Laken Riley Act: Weaponizing Tragedy Against Immigrant Communities
Rep. Evans voted YES on the Laken Riley Act, a bill that immigrant rights advocates strongly condemn as dangerous and politically motivated legislation.
What activists and advocates say:
This bill manipulates a personal tragedy to justify mass detention without due process. It disproportionately targets Black and Brown individuals and vulnerable communities while doing nothing to address actual public safety concerns. The legislation undermines constitutional protections and creates a framework for widespread civil rights violations.
The Laken Riley Act is not about safety—it’s about fear-mongering and expanding a system that tears families apart.
School Choice: Do as I Say, Not as I Do
Evans calls school choice “one of the most important civil rights issues of our day” — but tell that to the Black families demanding justice, the Brown families swept up in ICE raids, or the immigrants detained without criminal records. Vouchers that mostly benefit wealthy private school families are not a civil rights issue. What’s happening to those communities is. The research is clear: according to education policy expert Josh Cowen, voucher programs have expanded despite overwhelming evidence that they strip funds from public schools, lack academic accountability, and primarily benefit families whose children are already enrolled in private school. Meanwhile, Evans’ own children have never set foot in a public school — they are homeschooled. It’s easy to champion policies that defund public education when your own kids don’t depend on it.
The Congressman Who Won’t Face You
Despite growing public concern about his voting record, Rep. Evans has refused to hold traditional town halls where constituents can ask him questions directly. When Colorado Democrats organized a “People’s Town Hall” in April 2025 to give constituents a chance to be heard, Evans was absent. Only after significant public pressure did he agree to hold a town hall — and even then, he chose to do it by telephone, safely insulated from the constituents he was elected to serve. A telephone town hall allows a representative to control the conversation, avoid follow-up questions, and never have to look a worried family, a struggling farmer, or an angry voter in the eye. That’s not accountability — that’s the appearance of accountability without any of the discomfort that comes with it. Coloradans deserve a representative who is willing to show up in person and answer for his votes face to face.
Colorado Deserves Better
Rep. Evans has built a political brand around being a reasonable, moderate voice for Colorado’s 8th District. But his record reveals a pattern of saying whatever sounds good while voting however Trump demands. Coloradans deserve a representative who is honest about the trade-offs, accountable to his constituents, and actually fighting for the families he was elected to serve.
Join Us Every Friday
We’re gathering every Friday to make our voices heard. Whether Evans is in Washington or back in Colorado, we want him to know that his constituents are paying attention to how he votes—and we will hold him accountable.
When: Every Friday
RSVP to get location details
Bring signs, bring friends, bring your voice. Peaceful protest is our right, and it’s one of the most powerful tools we have to demand better representation.
Take Action Beyond the Protest
Register to vote: The 2026 midterms are coming—make sure your voice is counted
Call Rep. Evans’ office: Let him know how his votes affect you and your community
Share this post: Help spread the word about the weekly protests
Overpass protest: Attend a Wednesday overpass protest
Together, we can send a clear message: Colorado deserves representatives who serve their constituents, not corporate interests and extremist agendas.
See you Friday.