Black El Paso County ranchers reluctant to attend sheriff’s proposed meeting
Rancher Courtney Mallery was out of jail and back at his ranch near Yoder on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
In an effort to address an article from a New Jersey-based publication that depicts an alleged racist intimidation campaign against a family of Black ranchers in El Paso County, Sheriff Joe Roybal on Tuesday proposed a meeting with Nicole and Courtney Mallery and other members of the Yoder community.
“I am requesting all interested parties meet in an effort to address ongoing concerns which have been brought forward by Mr. and Mrs. Mallery and indirectly by others through various social media platforms,” Roybal said in a letter to Willie Breazell of the Black and Latino Leadership Coalition.
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“It would be reasonable to involve members of the Eastern El Paso County community who are also impacted by the ongoing concerns.”
But the Mallerys said on Wednesday that they feel the sheriff’s overture is merely a response to national attention from the online article, which claims that the Sheriff’s Office hasn’t taken the couple’s harassment accusations seriously.
Sheriff’s Office Addresses On-line ArticleMedia Release: https://t.co/pbGGQMqyV4 pic.twitter.com/uQPHNxGY6K
— EPCSheriff (@EPCSheriff) February 7, 2023
“I don’t believe that it’s sincere,” Nicole Mallery said. “This offer was made because the world is watching now.”
Since the article’s publication, an explosion of outrage has been directed at the Sheriff’s Office, according to spokeswoman Lt. Deborah Mynatt. In addition to accusations of racism on social media, the Sheriff’s Office has received more than 100 threatening phone calls, Mynatt said.
A structure at the ranch of black rancher Courtney Mallery has signs of Black Lives Matter and Juneteenth. Their ranch is located near Yoder in eastern El Paso County. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
A structure at the ranch of black rancher Courtney Mallery has signs of Black Lives Matter and Juneteenth. Their ranch is located near Yoder in eastern El Paso County. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
“Some of the calls have been reasonable requests from people who are looking for more information,” she said. “But others have been vitriolic, calling us every name you can imagine, and there have been a lot of threats against us.”
Breazell, a former head of the local NAACP chapter, declined a request for comment on Tuesday.
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The Mallerys agree that a series of conversations is necessary to address their concerns and those of the Yoder community, but they are reluctant to attend the kind of meeting Roybal proposed.
“They want to put us in a room, like we’re sheep amongst wolves, for people to attack us,” Nicole said. “That won’t work.”
Nicole said she and her husband would be more amenable, at least at first, to a private sit-down with Roybal and a neutral party.
“I think the sheriff really needs to have a conversation with us,” she said. “(The Sheriff’s Office) is supposed to protect and serve, and that’s not happening for me.”
On Monday, the Sheriff’s Office arrested Courtney Mallery on a warrant for felony stalking, a charge he denies. Nicole Mallery was arrested Nov. 22 on two charges of felony stalking. She posted bond in December and is due back in court this week, according to court documents.
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