A gun rights supporter and former Republican candidate in Colorado faces “felony menacing” charges after being arrested for having “flashed” a weapon at a U.S. marshal from her van.
Kanda Calef, 44, an unsuccessful 2018 primary candidate for the state House, who also failed to win a 2015 bid to sit on Colorado Springs City Council, was pulled over by a trooper in a construction zone after allegedly speeding at over 90 mph and changing lanes multiple times.
An off-duty marshal had reported that she had shown him her pistol and while she “did not point the gun directly at him” she had “flashed it in a way to ensure he could see it.” The trooper then arrived and pursued her.
After the trooper turned on his lights, Calef stopped, and he used his vehicle microphone to tell her to roll down her windows and keep her hands in the open. A second trooper arrived, with weapon unholstered, and Calef stepped out of her van.
The marshal said he felt “endangered” by her Smith & Wesson .38 Special, which the trooper confiscated even though she had told him she possessed a concealed carry permit. The trooper said: “My emergency equipment had not been activated at all at this time, but it appeared to me that the driver was going to try to elude me.”
Calef is a passionate defender of the Second Amendment who supported conservative spending bills like one that opposed the “red flag” bill, signed this year, that allows a judge to seize guns from someone who poses a threat to themselves or the people around them.
She made headlines for refusing to endorse a Republican candidate while she was on the El Paso County’s Republican Party executive board in 2016 and refusing to resign.
If convicted of the charge, Calef would no longer be allowed to own firearms. The prosecution has to prove that she “knowingly” placed someone “in fear of serious bodily injury.” She would face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Calef is due to appear in Douglas County District Court on June 20.
Drew Eddy, Calef’s attorney, told the Colorado Gazette: “My client is innocent of these charges; they’re allegations at this point.”
