When Kristen Fry lined up to speak at a Denver Public Schools board public comment session in August 2023, all she intended to do was read a statement in support of soon-to-be-fire McAuliffe International School Principal Kurt Dennis on behalf of some of his teachers.
The evening devolved into a nightmare when a political operative seated near the speaker”s dais accused her of using a racial slur and physically assaulting him. She faced criminal charges until a surveillance video released under subpoena exonerated her of the assault charge. You can view that video here.
The video had no sound, but Fry vociferously denies using a racial slur. She says she simply asked the operative, Hashim Coates, and his companion, MiDian Z. Shoffner, to be respectful of speakers rather than heckling them.
But board members at the time as well as Superintendent Alex Marrero publicly castigated her during a board work session a few days after the incident, taking Coates’ claims at face value and implying that Fry was a racist.
As a result, Fry has filed a federal lawsuit against three incumbent board members, Xóchitl Gaytán, Scott Esserman, and Nichelle Quattlebaum; former board member Auon’tai Anderson; and Coates and Shoffner.
A federal District Court Judge earlier this month denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Given that the three incumbents named in the suit are currently up for reelection, ad the recent court ruling, this seemed a good time to have Fry on to tell her story, along with her lawyer, James Kerwin of the Mountain States Legal Foundation.
Stay tuned at the end of the episode as co-host Alexsi Menocal Harrigan publicly reveals for the first time DPS’s attempt to retaliate against her for helping to organize opposition to Superintendent Alex Marrero’s recent contract extension.
