Boulder police announced Thursday that they have arrested 36-year-old Taylor James Rose of Arvada in connection with an Oct. 23 assault near 27th Way and Baseline Road. The victim, who identified himself as CU Boulder student and Turning Point USA member Nathaniel Ellis, told police he was hit with a hockey stick by a man on rollerblades while riding his bike.
Police said Rose was arrested Thursday morning with assistance from Arvada police and the FBI and charged with second-degree assault, a felony. Detectives are still searching for a second person of interest who they believe may have witnessed the attack. The man was seen rollerblading near Rose before the incident and is not suspected or accused of any crimes.
The case has drawn heightened attention because Ellis is a member of CU Boulder’s Turning Point USA chapter and was the subject of recent social media posts and flyers, shared by the group Front Range Anti-Fascists, alleging ties to two white supremacist groups: Patriot Front and Active Club.
Ellis told the Daily Camera he believes the assault was politically motivated and that his assailant called him a “fascist” before hitting him.
Ellis has been tagged in public photos on social media wearing symbols associated with white supremacist groups and appears in a video of a Patriot Front rally. Since BRL’s previous reporting on this case, Ellis has been identified in a video in which he calls himself a racist.
Police say the person of interest they are looking for was seen posting flyers “in close proximity” to the accused assailant shortly before the assault. They did not specify whether the flyers were the same ones accusing Ellis of ties to white supremacist groups.