Rev. Candace Woods shared with the Pikes Peak Bulletin an email exchange between herself and Colorado Springs City Council President Lynette Crow-Iverson following public comments from Woods and other faith leaders at the Jan. 13 council meeting ahead of a proposed Martin Luther King Jr. Day proclamation.
The public comments centered on honoring King’s civil rights legacy and were critical of ongoing federal immigration enforcement operations. Councilmember Dave Donelson stated during the meeting that he supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities and left the meeting.
Council member Kimberly Gold said at the meeting she was glad the public comment brought “fiery conversation. Because Dr. MLK was a fiery person, he had to be in order to create change.” She also posted on social media about Donelson leaving the meeting, saying he “angrily stormed off the dais and refused to participate in a customary photo.”
On Jan. 20, Gold was formally reprimanded by Council President Lynette Crow-Iverson and five other council members for the comments and social media posts she made on Jan. 13.
Shortly after making public comments on Jan. 13, Woods emailed the text version of her comments to the city council.
In response, Crow-Iverson told Woods her public remarks were “deeply disappointing in both tone and substance as they related to the Martin Luther King Jr. proclamation presented by Councilmember Rainey.” She also wrote, “When ceremonial moments are co-opted for unrelated political messaging, it undermines the dignity of the proceedings and the very civic values Dr. King championed.”
Woods stood by her public comments and their relevance to King’s legacy.
Here is the full text of the exchange:
From: Candace Woods
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 10:24 AM
To: All Council – DL <[email protected]>; Lynette Crow-Iverson <[email protected]>; Brian Risley <[email protected]>; Dave Donelson <[email protected]>; Tom Bailey <[email protected]>; Brandy Williams <[email protected]>; Kimberly Gold <[email protected]>; Nancy Henjum <[email protected]>; Roland Rainey Jr <[email protected]>; David Leinweber <[email protected]>; Yemi Mobolade <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Comments on MLK Day
Hello again Council members and Mayor Yemi,
I wanted to share the written content of my comments to you all from this morning. Thank you for allowing our gathering of clergy the opportunity to speak. We ask that you use your delegated power from the people of Colorado Springs to protect all of the citizens and residents of Colorado Springs from federal overreach through immigration enforcement.
Good morning council president, council members, and the Mayor’s Office. I’m Rev. Candace Woods, a 21 year resident of Colorado Springs, and a student of history, political science, and nonviolent resistance, including the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
First, thank you. Remembering the life and work of Dr. King is a cultural good. As stated in the declaration, we recommit ourselves, “in word and deed, to building a beloved community where peace is practiced, justice is pursued, and dignity is afforded to all.”
Second, in order for this work to be done, we must speak clearly about what justice and peace look like. Dr. King did not waver in how he spoke truth to power. In this moment of our nation’s history, I am compelled to state this truth: the violent, authoritarian actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including the murder of Colorado Springs’ own Renee Nicole Good, are a stain on the fabric of history.
Mayor Yemi said last year that he hopes to see more raids of federal agents in our city. I have emailed him to see if he retracts those statements and have not heard a response. Because I see that ICE is a danger to my neighbors and community and to myself. I have been organizing and advocating for the rights and dignity of immigrants and refugees in this city for almost the whole of the two decades I have lived here. And at no point have I been more concerned about the violence and inhumane rhetoric against immigrants than I am right now.
Dr. King named three great evils of American society that continue to ail us. Those are racism, materialism, and militarism. What we are seeing in the current propaganda from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are clear racist threats by one of the most militarized entities of the free world, whose development and expansion is lining the pockets of the wealthiest Americans. ICE has a budget that is greater than most country’s standing armies. We must ask: why are we allowing this federal agency to terrorize our communities, US citizens and immigrants alike?
City Council, Mayor’s office, in the face of this, I leave you with Dr. King’s final words from his speech on the three evils and I ask you to take action that protects our community from federal overreach: “So let us stand in this convention knowing that on some positions; cowardice asks the question, is it safe; expediency asks the question, is it politic; vanity asks the question, is it popular, but conscience asks the question, is it right. And on some positions, it is necessary for the moral individual to take a stand that is neither safe, nor politic nor popular; but he must do it because it is right. And we say to our nation tonight, we say to our Government, we even say to our FBI [and to ICE], we will not be harassed, we will not make a butchery of our conscience, we will not be intimidated and we will be heard.”
Rev. Candace Woods
Pronouns: she/her/hers
On Tue, Jan 13, 2026 at 6:08 PM Lynette Crow-Iverson <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Rev. Woods,
Thank you for following up and for sharing the written text of your remarks from this morning’s City Council meeting. I appreciate your long-standing involvement in the Colorado Springs community and your willingness to participate in civic dialogue.
That said, I want to be candid. Today’s comments were deeply disappointing in both tone and substance as they related to the Martin Luther King Jr. proclamation presented by Councilmember Rainey.
The purpose of the proclamation was to honor Dr. King’s legacy and to solemnly recognize his contributions to our nation and to the principles of equality, dignity, and nonviolent civic engagement. Instead, the moment was redirected into a highly charged political critique of federal immigration enforcement and a personal attack on the Mayor – topics that were neither germane to the proclamation nor within the authority or jurisdiction of City Council.
Using a ceremonial proclamation honoring Dr. King as a platform for unrelated political advocacy effectively sterilized its intent and detracted from the respect owed to Dr. King’s legacy, to Councilmember Rainey as the presenter, and to the broader community observing the moment. Regardless of one’s views on immigration policy or federal agencies, there is a time and place for those discussions, and today’s proclamation was not it.
City Council welcomes public input and values passionate advocacy; however, decorum, relevance, and respect for the purpose of agenda items are essential to maintaining trust in our public process. When ceremonial moments are co-opted for unrelated political messaging, it undermines the dignity of the proceedings and the very civic values Dr. King championed.
I hope future engagement with Council will honor both the forum and the moment, even amid deep disagreement.
Respectfully,
Lynette Crow-Iverson
Council President
City Councilmember At Large
City of Colorado Springs
(719) 385-7720 office
From: Candace Woods
Date: January 14, 2026 at 10:14:43 AM MST
To: Lynette Crow-Iverson <[email protected]>
Cc: Roland Rainey Jr <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Comments on MLK Day
Hello Council President Crow-Iverson and Councilmember Rainey,
Your own words for the day’s declaration stated that you were committing, “in word and deed, to building a beloved community where peace is practiced, justice is pursued, and dignity is afforded to all.” You took on these words on behalf of our whole community. In the tradition of MLK Jr. and many others before and after him, we as clergy participated in the work of prophetic imagination, highlighting the places where there continue to be injustice and violence in our communities. My words did not personally attack the Mayor, but rather invited him to clarify his remarks on whether or not he welcomes violent federal raids on our city. You have each taken oaths of office to uphold the constitutional rights of every citizen. I cannot think of one thing more germane to the constitutional rights of all residents of our city than the right to speech, protest, and due process. Those rights are being violated every day by ICE raids. You as the elected officials in our city have the power and obligation to protect us as citizens from federal overreach.
It would be a disservice to the legacy of Dr. King to simply accept the status quo of a declaration that is not lived out and practiced. As a reminder, MLK himself was disregarded and dismissed after broadening his message from civil rights to ending the Vietnam War. I stand proudly in the words that we spoke yesterday and pray that you all will truly commit yourselves to building a beloved community where justice is pursued and dignity is afforded to all. May God have mercy on us all if we do not meet this moment of history with clarity and moral fortitude.
Rev. Candace Woods
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Editor’s note Feb. 6: The first paragraph was edited to say “proclamation” instead of “resolution.”
