Ellie, Ruby and Aileen were walking down Lincoln Street on Saturday, February 8, to join the demonstration at the State Capitol Building, holding signs under their arms with phrases including "deport racists" and "immigrants make America great." But as they moved between 10th and 11th avenues, two men in a passing truck shouted "white power," "Nazi power" and "fuck you" at the women, they say.
According to the women, that's when they started recording. The video shows the truck driving backward down the one-way street toward the women walking on the sidewalk, with the front-seat passenger flipping them off. The passenger then throws a glass bottle out of the window toward the women, which breaks in the street. He throws a second glass bottle that reaches the sidewalk, shattering at the women's feet.
The truck is then seen speeding away down Lincoln Street, as the passenger screams "motherfucker" and throws a Nazi salute out the window.
"It made all of our hearts drop," Ellie says. "We were worried they would pull a gun out. We weren’t sure what was coming next, We weren’t sure what provoked them to even do this."
Ruby adds that it seemed the men were driving around the area with the goal of finding protesters to attack: "It was kind of pathetic, two guys going after three girls," she notes.
The women immediately reported the incident to a nearby state trooper, providing the vehicle description and license plate number. But "nothing has been done," Ellie says.@elbelwest Yesterday, 2/8/2025, me and two friends were walking toward CO state capitol to protest. We had signs under our arms that weren’t visible to read and were dressed in normal attire with no political affiliation. We were talking amongst ourselves while walking when a truck at the stop light across the street from us rolled down their window to yell “f*** you, wh*te power, n*zi power” and do a n*zi salute. One of our friends yelled back to shut up and we kept walking. Moments later, they sped through the light they were stopped at to catch up with us and turned around on this one way street, so we began recording. As you can see in the video, they roll down their window again to throw glass at us and speed off while yelling “wh*te power” and again giving a salute. We tried reporting to Denver police department, but given the glass did not strike us, I am not sure the report will result in any further action. I did want to share this as a warning for pedestrians in Denver and throughout the United States to be extra cautious of their surroundings, especially when close to government buildings. We did not do anything to provoke these people. We are three young, white-passing women, which comes with the privilege of usually not triggering individuals like this. My assumption is they were aware a protest was going on nearby and could tell we supported it because we had signs tucked under our arms. It’s scary to think this was enough to prompt their actions, and I’m disheartened that people feel comfortable (and empowered) to act this way. I’m thankful me and my friends are safe & hope that sharing this can help keep others in our community safe! #denver #colorado #protest @Ween ♬ original sound - El
"The cop made it seem like it was not illegal because the glass didn’t hit us," Ellie continues. "They said that it’s not their zone and they only protect the Capitol."
Trooper Gabriel Moltrer of the Colorado State Patrol says they passed the report and vehicle description on to the Denver Police Department who "went out to look for the party." However, a DPD spokesperson told Westword they had no record of the incident or the vehicle until Monday, two days after the attack occurred.
The case is now under investigation but no arrests have been made, according to DPD. Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
The victims say they're not optimistic that they will get justice through law enforcement. Instead, they're turning to social media.
The video of the altercation has garnered over 86,000 views on TikTok and 300,000 views via an Instagram repost as of Tuesday afternoon. The women hope one of the viewers will recognize and identify their assailants publicly.
“They should be known. If they’re so proud, then be proud about it," Ruby says. "Let’s see how your workplace feels about it. Let’s see how your friends and family feel about it.”
The women, who asked to not share their last names, say they believe they were targeted because of their gender and age (they're all in their mid-twenties), noting that the truck driver and passenger did not go after nearby men who were walking to the protest. Two of the women, Ruby and Aileen, are also Hispanic.
Ruby says her mother, a nurse who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, has experienced increasingly frequent acts of racism and discrimination from patients in the last year.
"People feel emboldened," Ruby says. “It’s only going to keep going up, these kinds of incidents. ...Even being in the march, as great as it felt to be with the community and use our voices, I couldn’t help but think, ‘What else is going to happen? I haven’t even made it to the march and people are already throwing glass.'"
Ruby and Aileen both grew up in Colorado, and all three of the women have participated in protests in downtown Denver on numerous occasions, including those held by Black Lives Matter and the Women's March. But none of them have faced violence before now.
“The hate has always been there, I think they’re just feeling more empowered to say things out loud, because there aren't going to be any repercussions," Aileen says. “This is the first time we’re seeing something like this. I know it might sound silly, but to me, it is surprising that this would be happening in somewhere like Denver.”
In addition to trying to identify the men, the women say they posted the video on social media to warn other Denver protesters of the dangers they could face.
Colorado has experienced a rise in hate crimes in recent years. The women mention the swastika that has been repeatedly displayed in the window of a Denver apartment as a sign of the open racism that is infiltrating the Mile High City.
Ruby says President Donald Trump pardoning the January 6 insurrectionists has encouraged people to escalate their hate from speech to acts of violence.
"When we have someone in power that is okay with these things, it starts happening at lower levels as well," Ruby continues. "They did it because they knew they could get away with it."
While the experience has left the women frustrated and shaken, they say it will not deter them from participating in future protests: “It just highlights the importance of it,” Ellie says.
