Former leaders of the Boulder County NAACP branch are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the national organization, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction over the case and that the claims against them have no legal merit.
Last year, the national NAACP sued 13 former leaders of the Boulder County branch, accusing them of dissolving the branch without authorization from the national board. The national organization also alleged the defendants attempted to liquidate roughly $102,000 in branch assets and misused donor and member lists to spread misleading information.
The lawsuit escalated a high-profile power struggle between the national office and leaders of the Boulder branch. Several of the defendants have been outspoken critics of city leadership, particularly the appointment of Police Chief Steve Redfearn in 2024. Their monthslong public campaign contributed to a chain of events that included a complaint from the city manager, an attempt by the executive committee to dissolve the branch, the national NAACP’s suspension of all executive committee members and, ultimately, the lawsuit against them.
In a motion filed last month in U.S. District Court, the defendants argue the national NAACP has overstated the amount of money at stake in the dispute. The total, they say, falls below the $75,000 threshold required to bring the case in federal court.
The national organization claimed in its June 2025 lawsuit that the branch held roughly $77,000 in a bank account and $25,000 in Google stock. But the defendants said the branch never possessed any Google stock, and that, after paying outstanding debts and obligations, only $22,076 remained when the lawsuit was filed.
The defendants also dispute the national office’s characterization of what happened to the remaining funds. Rather than stealing the money, the defendants said they deposited it into a bank account managed by Darren O’Connor, a civil rights attorney and former criminal justice chair of the Boulder branch, for “safekeeping” until a court resolves the dispute. They argued that placing funds in a trust pending the outcome of litigation is not theft under Colorado law.
The defendants also asked a judge to toss out the case under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP statute, which is designed to protect people from lawsuits meant to intimidate them for speaking out on issues of public concern. They argued their decision to dissolve the Boulder branch was in response to the national organization’s “oppression” of their advocacy against Police Chief Redfearn.
In 2024, Boulder City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde filed a complaint with the national NAACP alleging unethical conduct by three members of the executive committee for recording a heated mediation session between city officials and branch leadership, and threatening to release it if Redfearn were appointed.
The national office later appointed an administrator to oversee the branch and directed local leaders to stop making what it called “unsubstantiated and inflammatory statements” about city officials.
Named in the lawsuit are O’Connor, who has filed his own lawsuit against the City of Boulder alleging city officials retaliated against him for speaking out against Redfearn. That case is pending in federal court. Also named are former branch president Annett James and former vice president Jude Landsman. The complaint named 13 members of the branch in total. Three of those defendants appear to be in settlement talks, according to court records.
All executive committee members supported the dissolution, according to previous reporting by Boulder Reporting Lab, but it remains unclear how much of the broader membership was informed or involved. The branch had about 500 members and appeared divided. The branch was the only civil rights advocacy group rooted in Boulder’s Black community.
But in February 2026, the Executive Committee for African American Cultural Events (ECAACE), a separate cultural group founded by Madelyn Strong Woodley, a former member of the Boulder County NAACP branch executive committee, stepped in and hosted cultural and educational events during Black History Month and Juneteenth that the NAACP previously led.
