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A group of Colorado mobile home park tenants claim they were informed by their landlord that rents would “most likely” double if President Donald Trump is not reelected.
Residents in a Fort Morgan trailer park expressed concerns over a letter from their landlord warning of the rent hike if Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the 2020 presidential election, KUSA-TV reported, calling it a “potential form of voter suppression.”
“Please understand IF Joe Biden is elected as our next president, everything you do and have to pay for will change completely,” read the letter, according to an image shared by KUSA which reported that several residents of the mobile home park had sent the station photos of the message.
“Everything will be increased. Like paying ALOT (sic) more in taxes, utilities, gasoline, groceries, new permits, fees and regulations…everything! This also means YOUR RENT will be increased to cover these expenses. Most likely, rent would DOUBLE in price!” the letter, dated October 19, read.
(Source: KUSA)
The letter also noted that if Trump is reelected, rents at Pagel’s Trailer Park will likely remain unchanged for “at least” two years.
“Voting is your choice and we are not telling you how to vote. We are just informing our tenants what WE will do according to the election results,” the letter concluded. “If Trump wins, we all win. If Biden wins, we all lose.”
Some residents were disturbed by the letter, and spoke to KUSA about what they saw as a threat.
“I mean, we can’t control how this whole election goes,” Cindy Marquez, who has lived in the trailer park for 20 years, said. “It was mainly hurtful, you know? How could someone say something like that or basically threaten us according to something we can’t control?”
“Our family lives paycheck to paycheck and right now we barely make things out with what we get,” she added.
“It is against the law to impede, prevent, or interfere with a person’s right to vote,” Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold tweeted, slamming the letter as a form of “voter intimidation.”
“This includes efforts to intimidate, threaten or coerce in a way that interferes with a person’s ability to vote,” she added.
Reminder: voter intimidation is illegal everywhere in Colorado. It is against the law to impede, prevent, or interfere with a person’s right to vote. This includes efforts to intimidate, threaten or coerce in a way that interferes with a person’s ability to vote.
— Colorado Sec. of State (@COSecofState) October 22, 2020
Griswold’s office confirmed to KUSA that it had received a complaint about the letter, and had passed it along to the state’s attorney general. The news station noted that their calls to the landlord for comment had not been answered. But social media users had already begun the witch hunt.
Voter intimidation is a felony, @berniepagel. His business’s yelp page is: https://t.co/tStSIiFWxF https://t.co/e9l2fN1XJY pic.twitter.com/ugATqigtpB
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) October 22, 2020
Look how fast you’re going to be indicted for voter intimidation and you can’t even spell english
— Sebastian Roché (@sebroche) October 22, 2020
Lawyer up dude.
— Dianne Dittrich🇨🇦 (@DianneDitt) October 22, 2020
Similar complaints of voter suppression and intimidation were brought up in Florida recently after a manufacturing company based in Orlando warned employees of potential layoffs if Biden wins the election.
“If Trump and the Republicans win the election, DMC will hopefully be able to continue operating, more or less as it has been operating lately,” read the letter from the president of Daniels Manufacturing Corporation, which sports a Trump 2020 flag outside of its building.
“However, if Biden and the Democrats win, DMC could be forced to begin permanent layoffs in late 2020 and/or early 2021,” George Daniels added.
Democratic Colorado state Sen. Julie Gonzales noted that a complaint about the letter to trailer park residents was filed with the state’s Attorney General Phil Weiser, calling out the “scare tactics” and “fearmongering.”
Yesterday, Juana and several other residents reached out to me, and also filed complaints with AG @pweiser. Gracias to Juana and to everyone else who has denounced these scare tactics. Fearmongering has no place in Colorado. #copolitics https://t.co/I4mfi9Ikbz
— Senadora Julie Gonzales (@SenadoraJulie) October 22, 2020
Colorado Common Cause tweeted a message to voters reminding them that “their vote is always confidential.”
Friendly reminder to voters that their vote is always confidential. No one knows how you vote – including your landlord. If folks need help @JustVoteCO is here! 866-OUR-VOTE or 888-VE-Y-VOTA.
— CO Common Cause (@CommonCauseCO) October 22, 2020
“No one knows how you vote, the grassroots group tweeted, “including your landlord.”
Though the mobile home park tenants raised fears about perceived threats, many Twitter users responded with a reality check.
Factmongering would be more accurate. When the operating expenses increase who is supposed to absorb those costs? This is not scare tactics this is stating the truth and facts that if Biden wins and the Socialist agenda prevails this country will never be the same.
— Carolyn Cline (@highdesert2) October 23, 2020
Im not sure speaking the truth is intimidation..
— Jeremiah Fulbright (@jw_fulbright) October 23, 2020
Telling your Tenants The Truth is NOT VOTER INTIMIDATION
You are a person in “POWER” who “threating” this person with “legal action”
That’s “Intimidation” & EXACTLY how leaders behave in Communist Countries!
This person was “NOT” threatening people.
ONLY stating the TRUTH!!!
— One Nation Under God & 4 Trump (@SaveRNationUSA) October 23, 2020
Cold, hard facts is not intimidation.
— Chris (@ArlieH66) October 23, 2020
Giving tenants a heads up about potential rate hikes sound like a nice gesture, only a lunatic fascist could see that as intimidation…
— tom myspal 🇺🇸🗽 (@myspal) October 23, 2020
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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