Anti-transgender activist Stephen Scaer, known online as “Sidewalk Steve,” claims he was assaulted while picketing in Manitou Springs on Dec. 27. Scaer, a Nashua, New Hampshire resident, has built his platform holding signs with the slogan “no child is born in the wrong body” and recording the responses he gets from passersby.
According to a report filed with the Manitou Springs Police Department, “[Scaer] said that he was standing on the sidewalk with his billboard on his neck when a white male walked up to him and spit on him.”
Read the full MSPD report here:
Scaer posted about the interaction online, and a photo of the alleged suspect was shared by the account Libs of Tik Tok, which is known for promoting online misinformation, far-right propaganda, and anti-LGBTQ content to its 4.5 million X followers.
Scaer’s appearance in Manitou Springs comes as Colorado, a state whose Democrat-controlled legislature has passed widespread protections for LGBTQ people, could see ballot initiatives in 2026 to restrict access to gender-affirming health care for minors.
Conservative activist group Protect Kids Colorado is supporting two ballot initiatives for 2026: Initiative 109 would effectively ban students who are trans from playing sports, and 110 would ban certain gender-affirming care procedures from being performed on anyone under 18. The group unsuccessfully tried to get similar measures on the ballot in 2024, and has seen support from faith groups across the state, including the Colorado Catholic Conference.
“These initiatives must be enacted to protect Colorado families and children, especially as extreme laws violating parental rights continue to be advanced in our state,” read an Aug. 20, 2025 letter signed by Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila and three bishops from Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. “During the 2025 Colorado legislative session, over 1090 Coloradans came to the state capitol to advocate against HB25-1312 Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals. Still, committee leadership limited testimony, effectively silencing more than half of the attendees who came to voice their serious concerns about the bill. Enacted on May 16, the new law codifies discrimination against any faith-based or private institution or individual with a different belief about human sexuality and forces them to conform to government-mandated beliefs about ‘sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression’ and avoid ‘misgendering’ or ‘deadnaming’ (using biological pronouns and birthname) intentionally under threat of criminal and financial penalties based on the revised Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. The impact on Colorado’s anti-discrimination law is a massive violation of First Amendment freedoms of speech and conscience, particularly for parental rights. HB25-1312’s House version even aimed to make a parent’s position on their child’s trans-identity a factor in custody decisions. Due to public backlash, that provision was removed from the proposed law, but the nation remains attentive to Colorado parents’ fight against state overreach.”
Last week, both Children’s Hospital Colorado and Denver Health announced suspensions of gender-affirming care for transgender youth, including hormone and puberty-blocking therapies, following a series of federal challenges to such care. Neither organization provides surgeries to individuals under 18 years of age.
Scaer’s appearance in Manitou isn’t the first time anti-trans activists have focused on the city. In August, activists and Peak News contributors Jordan Scott and Yolanda Edwards alleged sexual fetishism and child abuse at Manitou Springs Pride during City Council public comment.
