Hunt said he was "exploring legal options" at the time, but now that threat is gaining more weight. He sent his first shots across the bow this week — threatening a free-speech lawsuit against both the House and Senate — after teaming up with the First Amendment rights group FIRE, also known as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
"My goal with this case is to make sure this type of censorship doesn't happen to anyone else, especially in the heart of our state’s democracy," Hunt declared in a statement on Tuesday, July 16. "I felt like I was being targeted for expressing my American right to free speech."
In an interview with Westword last year, the KNUS-AM host described his public toss-out on March 21, 2023, while he was at the State Capitol for Pregnancy Resource Center Day.
Hunt said he was one of many people who went to the Capitol that day to support pregnancy resource and crisis centers ahead of the “Safe Access to Protected Health Care" package of abortion bills. All three bills wound up passing, according to State of Reform.
"They were going to introduce all these pregnancy resource centers on the floor of the Senate," Hunt explained. "They do that 'moment of personal privilege,' and then they welcome guests to the gallery. And so Colorado Christian University — which has as a trade name 'Pro-Life U' — I just wore my sweatshirt down there."
Under Jeff Hunt, the Centennial Institute has operated at the intersection of conservative politics and Christianity.
JeffreyGrounds Photography
Hunt was the director of the CCU-affiliated Centennial Institute, a think tank, before stepping down in February.
His support for crisis pregnancy centers and the pro-life movement has been well documented over the years as CPCs in Colorado continue to be blasted as "fake clinics" by pro-choice groups and advocates. Allegations have included CPC staffers having anti-abortion agendas and providing inaccurate information about the procedure to try and scare women away from considering it.
The centers are said to provide services such as ultrasounds and STD testing, but insist that it's only to provide a referral to other medical professionals.
While at CCU, Hunt and his colleagues dubbed it the most pro-life university in America, noting how the school has a "strategic priority" for impacting society and culture "in support of the sanctity of life," according to its president, Dr. Donald Sweeting. Hunt and the rest of CCU's staff cheered the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and take away Americans' constitutional right to abortion, saying it was a "historic day of celebration" for the United States.
Hunt said it took just "thirty seconds" for him to be plucked out from the Senate gallery on March 21, 2023, and ushered away by the sergeant at arms, according to his cell phone footage.
"The sergeant at arms asked me to step outside and pointed to a little sign that said, 'No articles of clothing with political statements allowed,'" Hunt told Westword. "I tried to explain to him, 'Well, this is the name of our university.' It doesn't say, like, 'Support sanctity of life' or 'Support this bill' or 'Support pregnancy resource centers' — it's just our name. It'd be like someone wearing a Planned Parenthood sweatshirt in. It's just the name of the organization. And I tried to explain that to him, and he said, 'Well, let me call my supervisor.' So he called his supervisor up, and he came to the same conclusion: that it was a political statement and therefore was banned."
When looking at the Colorado General Assembly website and gallery rules on March 31, 2023, Westword was unable to find any information about politically charged articles of clothing being prohibited. A statement sent by the secretary of the Senate, Cindi Markwell, later that evening said that the site was updated "to reflect the signage of the gallery doors."
Markwell said that Hunt was targeted for expulsion because of the "Safe Access to Protected Health Care" bill package that was up for debate that day.
"These bills drew both pro-life and abortion-rights constituents," Markwell told Westword. "In accordance with custom and practice, and as stated on the signage posted on each side of the Senate gallery, no apparel can be worn expressing political statements. The purpose of the policy is to avoid conflict between opposing sides on any particular issue."
Hunt had previously said he was exploring litigation related to equal treatment and free speech in response to his dismissal, and that he was willing to take his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
His partnership with FIRE was made official Tuesday in a letter sent to the House and Senate on Tuesday, outlining why they feel the Senate's actions and Capitol rules are wrong and unlawful.
"The Capitol Gallery Rule’s ban on 'political' pins and apparel violates the First Amendment," the letter says, citing quotes from Supreme Court rulings.
“[S]peech on public issues occupies the highest rung on the hierarchy of First Amendment values and is entitled to special protection," reads one quote that was attributed to the 2010 case Snyder v. Phelps.
"That is because “[s]peech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self-government," the letter adds, citing the 1964 case Garrison v. Louisiana. "When the government seeks to silence political expression, it bears a heavy burden to justify its censorship. The Capitol Gallery Rule cannot meet that high bar."
More specifically, the letter notes how "regulations on speech must be capable of reasoned application," and says the Capitol Gallery Rule is not.
FIRE points to a 2018 Supreme Court case involving the Minnesota Voters Alliance where a ban on "political apparel" in polling places was struck down because it did not provide "sufficient guidance" for government officials and the public to understand what constituted "political apparel."
The foundation argues that it is unclear, for instance, whether terms like “Support Our Troops” or “#MeToo” would be in violation of the rule.
"We decided to take on this issue because Coloradans should be able to wear a political shirt where politics happens," says FIRE attorney Josh Bleisch.
"What counts as 'political' is highly nebulous — almost everything can be 'political' if you're looking for it," he tells Westword. "And the Supreme Court has been clear that open-ended restrictions, like the one in the Colorado State Capitol's galleries, violate the Constitution because they are ripe for abuse and inconsistent enforcement."
Jeff Hunt speaking at an edition of the Western Conservative Summit.
JeffreyGrounds Photography
He told Westword last year that he also believes a Senate gallery is "something not nearly as political as a polling place, but rather a general public location where laws are written and the public is invited to be there."
Hunt cited demonstrations conducted last year by East High School students at the Capitol in response to the Luis Garcia and dean shootings, during which large numbers of people showed up in the Senate gallery with politically charged statements and phrases on their shirts.
"When East High School was down there protesting, there were lots of pictures of hundreds of students wearing 'Angels Against Gun Violence' sweatshirts in the Senate gallery," Hunt said. "So you kind of look at that and go, 'My goodness. It seems like there's a double standard here.'"
Senate officials have said that the reason students and anti-gun advocates were allowed to wear political attire during their visits to the Capitol was because there were no gun bills being heard that day on the Senate floor or in committee.
Hunt told Westword last year that he viewed his removal and the topic of political free speech a slippery slope.
"First it's 'Pro-Life U,' next it's the word 'Christian,'" Hunt said. "Is there going to come a point where 'Christian' in itself is considered a political term? We know Colorado Christian University is a conservative school, so is that name itself — the university itself — going to be deemed a political statement?"
Asked about the free speech argument, Markwell cited Article V, Section 12 of the Colorado Constitution, which says: "Each house makes and enforces rules. Each house shall have power to determine the rules of its proceedings and adopt rules providing punishment of its members or other persons for contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence; to enforce obedience to its process; to protect its members against violence, or offers of bribes or private solicitation."
Senate and House officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Hunt did not respond to a request for comment.
