This lawsuit seeks to protect the integrity of Saturday’s annual meeting in Denver
Denver, Colorado (October 15, 2025) – This week, the Libertarian Party of Colorado (LPCO) filed a lawsuit against a group of rogue party members, led by Caryn Ann Harlos. They have filed paperwork to the Secretary of State claiming to be the legitimately elected party leadership. Their actions undermine the official LPCO annual meeting taking place this Saturday, October 18, 2025 in Denver. An emergency hearing will be held on Friday, October 17, 2025 at 3 PM in Denver Court before Judge Sarah Block Wallace to consider a preliminary injunction against the usurpers.
“Our Bylaws serve as a contract that binds us together in pursuit of our party’s ideals. This lawsuit is the final step in an exhaustive, months-long process to protect the party’s integrity,” explained LPCO Chair Hannah Goodman.
This controversy began earlier this year when our 2025 annual meeting, scheduled for June 28 in Holyoke, Colorado was canceled for deficient notice. Despite the cancellation, a group of individuals—now named as defendants in our lawsuit—hijacked the space to hold an unauthorized meeting on June 28, 2025. Led by Caryn Ann Harlos, these rogue members elected “pro tem” officers, passed resolutions, amended our Bylaws without authority, and formed an illegitimate “Emergency Board Oversight Committee” (EBOC).
Knowing their actions were not authorized under Colorado law or the Bylaws, they mailed misleading letters to members and purchased a classified ad in the Denver Post, impersonating the LPCO. These actions cast doubt on our legitimate upcoming annual meeting. On August 23, 2025, they held a second illegitimate meeting where they conducted elections for party leadership and amended the party platform.
In line with our Bylaws, which provide for a binding, internal dispute resolution mechanism, Chair Goodman filed an appeal with the LPCO Judicial Committee (JC) on July 15, 2025. The JC, composed of duly elected members, has the authority to handle such matters. On September 2, 2025, the proper JC issued a decisive ruling: the June 28 meeting and all derivative actions—including those by the EBOC, resolutions, Bylaw amendments, elections, and the August 23 continuation meeting—were declared null and void.
Instead of respecting this ruling, the defendants refused compliance. They made baseless accusations, such as claiming JC Chair Eric Beultel was not a registered Libertarian voter. Beultel promptly responded, explaining that his registration was hidden from public records for personal and family safety reasons—a common and legitimate practice.
Compounding the issue, on September 22, 2025, the defendants’ self-proclaimed “Judicial Committee” (elected at their invalid August 23 meeting) emailed our legitimate Board with a decision on an appeal that our proper JC had already dismissed. This was yet another attempt to legitimize their rogue actions.
On the same day, we received a response to a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request that showed the defendants submitted paperwork on August 25, 2025 to the Colorado Secretary of State (SOS) presenting themselves as the legitimate LPCO Board. They improperly presented Keith Laube and Douglas Jones as the LPCO Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively.
In a bizarre turn, after initially dissuading members from attending our properly called October 18, 2025, annual meeting in Denver, Laube and Jones submitted bylaw changes for consideration at that very meeting.
On September 23, 2025, Laube sent emails reversing course, encouraging attendance and soliciting support for his and Douglas Jones’ candidacies for Chair and Vice-Chair.
If these defendants attend the October 18 meeting and present themselves as the “real” Board, it could lead to chaos: confusion over leadership, potential cancellation of the meeting, disenfranchisement of members, and prolonged damage to the LPCO’s purpose and reputation. We cannot allow this to happen.
Our lawsuit, filed in Denver County District Court (Case Number: 2025CV33628) seeks to enforce the JC ruling voiding the actions of the rogue members. The LPCO Bylaws do not provide for the enforcement of a JC ruling. The LPCO has exhausted all of its options before going to court.
An emergency hearing will be held on Friday, October 17, 2025 at 3 PM in Denver Court before Judge Sarah Block Wallace to consider a preliminary injunction. This injunction, if ordered by the court, would at the very least prohibit these rogue members from claiming to be the legitimate LPCO board.
The LPCO remains committed to our mission of advancing liberty in Colorado. We encourage all members to attend the legitimate October 18, 2025, annual meeting and participate fully.
We will provide updates as the case progresses. For now, we stand firm: the LPCO belongs to its members, not to any rogue faction. If you have questions, reach out to our official channels. Together, we’ll protect the principles that define us.
— The Libertarian Party of Colorado Board
