ICYMI: Congressman Evans Sounds the Alarm on Rising Attacks Against Law Enforcement

December 5, 2025
Press Release

In case you missed it … The Committee on Homeland Security held a full committee hearing titled “When Badges Become Targets: How Anti- Law Enforcement Rhetoric Fuels Violence Against Officers.” The hearing examined the surge in threats and rise in targeted attacks against Law Enforcement. 

As a former cop, Congressman Evans knows — this fight is personal. During his five-minute speech, Rep. Evans took to the mic to detail his firsthand experience and highlight the attacks against Coloradans who walk the thin blue line. 

Read highlights below or watch the full video here.

“I was a cop for ten years in the Denver metro area. The reason I am in Congress is because in 2020 the ruling democrats in Colorado passed a bill that took the first steps toward defunding law enforcement and toward making cops guilty until they proved themselves innocent. 

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I watched my cops suffer. I buried countless others when I was on the honor guard. And in terms of refusing to condemn physical or political violence — I will remind everyone of two votes that happened earlier this year where every single member of the United States House of Representative voted to condemn the murder of a Democrat leader in Minnesota. But 118 of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle could not vote to condemn the murder of Charlie Kirk. 

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When cops are handcuffed, it's the cops who suffer. And not only is it the cops who suffer, it's the low-income and the minority communities that suffer.

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My district is 40% Hispanic. You know who suffers when we don't have law enforcement to keep our communities safe? It's my low-income and my minority communities.

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Colorado has led the nation more years than not the last 5 years in auto theft. You know what happens when one of my Hispanic trade workers gets their vehicle stolen? Not only are they out of vehicle, they've lost their job because they can't show up to the job site tomorrow to do the work. I've seen this happen because I've taken those reports.

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We just had the sixth largest fentanyl seizure in US history in Colorado. 12 kgs of fentanyl, 1.7 million illicit pills, enough to kill 6.8 million people, every man, woman, and child in Colorado.

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The defund the police and sanctuary city style politics that I personally experienced as a law enforcement officer in Colorado — it's why I'm in Congress today.

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Under the previous administration, more Americans died as a result of drug overdoses like fentanyl than were killed in the entire September 11th terrorist attacks. That's personal to me too because I am a combat veteran of the Global War on Terror. 

I deployed to protect this country and to turn around to see these cartels, and these criminals, and these peddlers of poison, being able to run free in our communities because of defund-the-police rhetoric, and because of sanctuary city and state policies is absolutely onerous to me. 

It's onerous to the people that I have sworn oaths to protect and defend as I uphold the Constitution.

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Cops experience the physical, mental, moral, and emotional injuries of this job. And all of those things are made worse as a result of anti-law enforcement rhetoric."

Background:

Congressman Gabe Evans — a combat veteran, former police officer, and the grandson of Mexican immigrants — is fighting back against the sanctuary-state policies fueling crime across Colorado. Representing a district that is 40% Hispanic, he has seen firsthand how these policies hurt working families, small businesses, and minority communities.

Rep. Evans is leading the charge to restore public safety by ensuring law enforcement has the tools and support they need, despite Colorado’s leftist state policies, laws and politicians that have demoralized them.  

Two key pieces of legislation he has introduced include:  

In addition to this legislation, Rep Evans has worked alongside GOP members of Colorado’s congressional delegation including Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-04) and Congressman Jeff Crank (CO-05) to send several letters to Governor Polis regarding their concern for Colorado’s escalating crime crisis:

Rep. Evans' speech was made shortly after the largest single Fentanyl bust in Colorado’s history — and the 6th largest in the nation — on November 17, 2025. The record seizure contained 1.7 million counterfeit fentanyl pills, 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine, and another 12 kilograms of fentanyl powder. 

For context, 1.7 million counterfeit fentanyl pills can kill 850,000 Coloradans, and 1kg of pure fentanyl can kill 500,000 people, so that seizure was enough to kill 6.85 million people — every human in Colorado.

Colorado is in the midst of a severe fentanyl crisis, with its drug overdose rates declining at a significantly lower rate than most other states, remaining higher than before the pandemic and costing Coloradans more than $13 billion a year. Additionally, reflective of that tragic statistic, the state has the second highest teen overdose rates in the country according to a 2024 study. 

To combat the crisis, Congressman Evans has introduced the bipartisan No Fentanyl on Social Media Act with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), which targets the online trafficking of fentanyl to minors and requires federal action to shut down the digital pipeline. 

Furthermore Rep. Evans introduced the bipartisan Combatting Fentanyl Poisonings Act with Congressman Adam Gray (D-CA-13), which establishes new grant programs to help state and local law enforcement agencies and non-profits stop fentanyl dealers, protect officers in the field, and educate young people about the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit drugs.

Issues: Armed Forces Border Security and Immigration Public Safety Health