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Corey Donahue is a busy man. Click on his name and you will find a list of the Occupy Denver protester and medical marijuana activist’s most recent exploits, which this post will add to with restraining orders. A botched attempt to enter the State Capitol Tuesday afternoon resulted in his (again) being escorted out, a move that would be old hat by now if not for the reason behind it. Two Colorado state troopers have filed protection orders against him.
Donahue, who recently made our list of the November’s top 25 mug shots, was asked to leave the building on Tuesday during Occupy Denver’s 3 p.m. general assembly held at the capitol. When he asked why, he was told — for the first time, he says — of two protection orders issued against him. Because at least one of the troopers currently occupied the capitol, Donahue could not.
The Colorado State Patrol’s public information officers have confirmed the two orders but not the names of the officers who requested them. Both were issued around November 17, PIO Heather Cobler says. “They were issued by the Denver court, and that’s standard procedure for anybody who would be facing crimes of violence,” Cobler says.
Donahue is currently facing a felony investigation for his most recent charge of inciting a riot when police and troopers visited Civic Center Park on November 13. But he has interacted with the state patrol — perhaps most notably on the night of the movement’s first Denver eviction and Donahue’s first arrest for the movement — without prior protection orders.
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The details of the current orders are still a bit murky — particularly whether the troopers’ potential presence at Occupy Denver might mean Donahue will be required to leave the area. Donahue says he doesn’t know the names of either trooper who requested an order against him, which makes it difficult for him to avoid them.
“They have restraining orders against Corey Donahue, but they are victims just like anyone else,” says CSP Sergeant Mike Baker. “They just happen to be state troopers. To an extent, it’s a personal matter. It’s just these two gentleman.”
Although no specific reasoning has yet been provided for the two protection orders, previous statements of probable cause relating to Donahue’s occupation-related criminal charges detail his interactions with a handful of state troopers in a negative light. The most recent charge, that of inciting a riot, is accompanied by this statement from officer R.P. Suniga:
“Because of the actions of Donahue inciting the riot, multiple officers, including state patrol, were called in to assist restoring order. Two state patrol officers were seriously injured during the ensuing riot, which was started by and encouraged by Donahue… The defendant has multiple prior, recent ‘Occupy Denver’ protest arrests.”
Read the entire statement below. Westword has been unable to confirm whether the two troopers mentioned as injured are the two who filed protection orders against Donahue. Check back for updates on the story.
Corey Donahue/Occupy Denver Statement of Probable Cause
More from our Occupy Denver archive: “Occupy Denver initiates plan to recall Mayor Michael Hancock.”
