Colorado Police last Thursday arrested Hunter Rivera, the 24-year-old now-former chairman of the Weld County Republican Party, for allegedly trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a child. Rivera resigned immediately following his arrest.
Agents from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office posed online as minors offering sexual acts for sale. Investigators charged Rivera with soliciting a child prostitute, internet luring of a child, soliciting to arrange a minor prostitute in a cybercrime, and attempted sexual assault on a child, Colorado Politics reported.
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Rivera once chaired the Northern Colorado chapter of Young Republicans, a group whose leaders in other states have been exposed for making racist and
“Children are not property to be bought or sold,” Sheriff John Feyen said in a statement. “Human trafficking is modern day slavery, and we won’t tolerate it in Larimer County. I hope this operation sends a strong message. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you try to hurt kids in our community, you will be held accountable.”
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The Republican Party and its supporters have long baselessly accused LGBTQ+ people, drag queens, and their allies of “grooming” children for sexual abuse, despite many of the party’s own members being arrested for child sex crimes.
Conservative lawmakers from Weld County, such as former State Representative Stephen Humphrey, have previously sponsored legislation attempting to restrict marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples.
In 2024, the Colorado State Republican Party was led by Dave Williams, a former state representative who called LGBTQ+ people “evil” and “woke creeps”; said that all Pride flags should be burned; said that Pride “harms children and undermines parental authority”; and sent GOP emails referring to LGBTQ+ Americans as “barbaric,” “creeps,” “degenerates,” “godless,” “groomers,” “predators,” “radicals,” and “reprobates.”
In August of that year, the state party voted to remove him as its leader for his extremist views and for causing divisions within the party. But he challenged his ouster, leading to a complicated legal battle. His eventual replacement, Brita Horn, served from March 2025 until her resignation in April 2026. The seat currently remains empty.
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