Defendants Holly Kasun, Col. Shawn Smith, and pro se defendant Ashe Epp
David struck a crushing blow to Goliath in Federal Court yesterday in Denver, Colorado.
The Gateway Pundit reported all this week from the courthouse in Denver, CO on a First Amendment election-related case involving a grassroots organization that was being sued by a consortium of non-governmental organizations, some of which have been waging lawfare against former President Donald J. Trump recently.
In the case, CO, MT, WY State Area Conference of the NAACP v Shawn Smith et al., plaintiffs alleged that the defendants had violated the Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act with the grassroots organization, US Election Integrity Plan (USEIP), that the trio of defendants helped co-found after the 2020 Presidential Election.
David vs. Goliath Election Case Update: Colorado Secretary of State Redacts Exculpatory Evidence and “Civil Rights” NGOs’ Attorneys Coached a Witness
The grassroots volunteers began to canvass voters door-to-door in the spring of 2021 by asking them non-partisan questions to attempt to validate the Colorado voter rolls provided by the Secretary of State’s Office. Canvassers did not question voters about the secrecy of their ballot, nor did they act on behalf of any particular party or candidate. If they were asked to leave, they immediately did so.
The plaintiffs could not produce any credible witnesses that claim they’d been intimidated by USEIP canvassers. The one witness they provided was a resident of Mesa County, CO. However, the USEIP did not canvass that county.
Only July 17th, after three days of what was expected to be a five day trial, Judge Charlotte Sweeney ruled in defendant’s favor in a Rule 52c directed verdict, meaning the plaintiffs in the case did not meet the burden necessary to prove their claims. Because the plaintiffs failed to argue the case, it was unnecessary for defendants to present their own case in order for the judge to rule.
Defendant Shawn Smith, a retired USAF colonel, was represented by R. Scott Reisch, himself a Marine, while co-defendant Holly Kasun was represented by Michael Wynn and Cameron Powell of the law firm Gregor Wynne Arney.
But perhaps the most impressive victor in the two-year-long lawsuit was Ashe Epp, a co-founder of USEIP who represented herself in the case a pro se litigant.
In a statement to The Gateway Pundit, pro se defendant Ashe Epp said:
Justice still exists in America, and today is proof of that. As a pro se defendant, I found this process to be accessible and transparent. It’s a lot of work, and it’s harder than it looks, but the truth matters. The court found the facts without fear or favor, and the truth prevailed. I want to thank everyone that prayed, donated, shared our story, and otherwise supported our defense. Never stop fighting, and don’t give the lawfare machine an inch. The First Amendment is still in effect. Onward!
The case was brought by the CO NAACP, the CO League of Women Voters, and Mi Familia Vota with counsel provided by Free Speech For People and Lathrop GPM.
Judge Sweeney, a Biden appointee, subtly scolded plaintiffs’ counsel in her ruling this morning, mentioning that their one and only witness “upon the suggestion of counsel” named USEIP definitively as the canvassers that visited her home in her sworn declaration.
During testimony, the witness, Ms. Yvette Roberts, said that she had not heard of USEIP until she engaged with plaintiffs counsel. When asked by defendants counsel how she knew that it was USEIP at her door, she shockingly testified that plaintiffs’ counsel had suggested to her that it was USEIP who canvassed her. Had counsel not suggested this, Roberts likely never would have known the name of the canvassing organization.
Since USEIP did not canvass Mesa County at all, it is extremely concerning why USEIP was suggested by counsel as being responsible for the canvassing. Plaintiffs did not produce evidence during trial that USEIP did, in fact, canvass in Mesa Co.
Further, during Roberts testimony, there was nothing presented that was reasonably intimidating about the canvassers that visited her home. She willfully opened the door after they knocked. They asked questions about publicly-available information from the voter rolls and had identifiable name tags. Roberts could not remember the names of the canvassers nor the organization on the name tags during testimony. When Roberts no longer felt comfortable answering questions, she asked the two canvassers, an older man and woman, to leave, which they promptly did without debate. Roberts also notably claimed that the male canvasser said “Republicans!” in some regard during their interaction, another detail that was not mentioned in her initial police report.
Also in the initial complaint with local law enforcement, Roberts did not identify the canvassers’ names nor the organization. She also stated they had on “homemade-looking badges”. In her declaration, “homemade-looking badges” was changed to “official-looking badges”. During her testimony, she added that they looked like they were “from an office supply store.”
Roberts also added that she was “half Native-American” in the sworn declaration. When asked why this wasn’t mentioned in the original report with police, she said it was suggested by counsel to mention that detail.
One of the lead plaintiffs in the case, CO League of Women Voters executive Director Beth Hendricks, acknowledged that she was unaware of who was funding the legal expenses for the counsel representing her. Counsel for the defense thought this was concerning.
John Bonifaz, the founder of Free Speech For People (FS4P), signed on to the initial complaint filed against the USEIP founders in this case (USEIP was initially named but later removed because they were an unincorporated association).
Bonifaz’s organization, FS4P, has been waging lawfare against President Donald Trump regarding elections in Oregon, where they unsuccessfully sued before the 2020 Election on behalf of Mi Familia Vota, also a plaintiff in this case.
FS4P also unsuccessfully sued President Trump in Michigan all the way up to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2023. They also unsuccessfully sued to keep President Trump off the ballot in Oregon, losing at the Oregon Supreme Court. In 2022, they unsuccessfully sued to keep Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene off their respective ballots.
They also notably filed an amicus brief in the Colorado 14th Amendment challenge, which was ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court. Coincidentally, during the initial trial for that case, defendant Ashe Epp was doxxed by counsel. USEIP was also mentioned in that case.
Michael Wynn, counsel for Holly Kasun, remains undefeated in the lawfare battle against non-governmental organizations over the last year or so, including a massive victory in a 11b Voting Rights Act case while representing Dinesh D’Souza. He also represented True The Vote in a victory against lawfare. He has represented 11 clients in these types of cases, at least seven of them against the Elias Law Group. He is undefeated.
In a statement from Cameron Powell, he wrote:
We should all be proud of our Voting Rights Act. It’s an important bulwark against voter suppression and other anti-democratic tactics.
But lately we are seeing intimidation claims brought under it that lack any evidence of intimidating conduct but are focused instead almost entirely on punishing the defendants’ free speech – speech that is not itself a true threat or even reckless.
That was the case with Holly Kasun. The Court rightly rejected the dangerous precedent urged by the plaintiffs. And we will continue to defend both the Voting Rights Act and the First Amendment against overreaching uses of the Voting Rights Act.
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