A Democrat in Colorado, running for Congress in a swing district, has been accused of turning scofflaw because he filmed a “campaign” spot inside the Colorado Capitol.
That’s forbidden by state law, which prohibits elected officials from using state resources, including their access to state buildings, for campaigning.
It is a report at the Free Beacon that outlined what happened when Manny Rutinel, a Democrat, filmed a “confrontation” in which he badgered Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican from Colorado’s 8th District.
One Colorado compliance consultant called Manny Rutinel’s stunt “definitely illegal”: “He was there in his official capacity, but yet he used material to produce something for fundraising,” according to the report.
Rutinel claimed he was “not campaigning” when making the ad.
“But Rutinel went on to use the video in campaign fundraising emails, a move ethics officials say is a clear violation of state law,” the report said.
The report said Rutinel, now a state lawmaker, grilled Evans about his support for President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and its impact on Medicaid.
The ad using the material filmed in Colorado’s Capitol then “fades into ‘Jump Around’ by House of Pain and shows an image of Rutinel campaigning, with the accompanying text, ‘I’m coming for his job. His days in Congress are numbered,'” the report said.
It also urges viewers to “join” his campaign.
The footage, or screenshots, have been used by Rutinel multiple times, the report said, including when he boasts about “I confronted my MAGA congressman.”
Notably, Evans also filmed the exchange and the video was obtained by the Free Beacon, including footage Rutinel censored.
“At the start, someone off-camera informs Rutinel that campaigning is prohibited at the state capitol. ‘I’m not campaigning,’ he responds. As Evans walks off at the end of the exchange, he says, ‘No campaigning on state property.'”
Rutinel again claims, “I’m not campaigning.”
Lawyers who advise Colorado lawmakers have noted that campaigning using state resources is “improper and unethical.”
Rutinel’s confrontation was “definitely illegal,” Tammy Klein, the COO of SWS Polifi, a campaign finance and compliance firm, told the publication.
“He was there in his official capacity, but yet he used material to produce something for fundraising,” Klein said. “You cannot use any government-funded material or be campaigning on government property.”
An official from Rutinel’s campaign said, “Rutinel believes it’s important for Gabe Evans to explain to Coloradans why he voted to take healthcare away from 10 million Americans, so when he saw Evans he asked him to explain his vote to his constituents.”
The Free Beacon noted, pointedly, that Rutinel recently supported a move similar to the OBBB.
“He voted last month to institute a 2 percent cut to Medicaid health care providers as part of an effort to close the state’s $1.5 billion deficit,” the report said.
He also voted to preserve the Cover All Coloradans program, “which provides taxpayer-funded health care for ‘pregnant persons’ and children who would qualify for Medicaid if they weren’t illegal immigrants, albeit with benefit reductions and enrollment caps,” the report said.
