Colorado Politics: The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Tuesday that the former chief of the Florissant Fire Protection District could not prevail on the claim that his 2023 firing was retaliation for his First Amendment-protected activity.

Erik Holt alleged the Teller County district’s directors terminated him because he cooperated with an investigation into potential election fraud during the May 2023 election. Holt turned over the fire station’s surveillance footage from the day of the election and answered questions from the district attorney’s investigator. Five weeks later, the newly elected board voted to fire him.

A trial judge sided with the district after concluding that Holt’s speech in the investigation stemmed from his duties as a public employee, and was not constitutionally protected as a result. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld that determination.

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