A dispute over the right to use a dirt road in rural Colorado has morphed into an emerging racial justice issue as sheriff deputies attempt to tamp down accusations they are allowing a Black farm couple to be racially terrorized by their white neighbors.
Courtney and Nicole Mallery own a thousand-acre farm ranch in Yoder, Colorado. A rural community that has a population of around 1,400 people roughly 30 miles east of Colorado Springs, the area has a Black population of just 1 percent, and that’s where the Mallerys moved from Texas to establish their “Freedom Acres Ranch.”
The Mallerys claim their white neighbors have been unwelcoming and have terrorized them since 2021. The Black farmers go on to claim the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is enabling the racialized terrorism.
“Local police enable what is happening here,” Nicole Mallery told Ark Republic.
The Mallerys claim their problems began with some of their livestock were stolen, physically harmed, poisoned and burned to death. They also claimed their fence was damaged, the electrical lines were cut and their well water was stolen. The farmers accuse their neighbors of the alleged acts.
On Apr. 27, 2021, Nicole Mallery complained to deputies her neighbor was grazing animals on her property which furthered a series of complaints between the Mallerys and their neighbor. The property in question is a 60-foot-wide dirt road easement dividing the Mallery’s ranch from that of their neighbor Teresa Clark.
Courtney Mallery said he believes his ranch was targeted because his neighbors want to “steal his land” he said.
While the Mallerys claimed they lived…
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