Courtney and Nicole Mallery, Black farmers who relocated to Yoder, Colorado in 2020, are now seeking justice after what started off as a dispute between neighbors escalated into something way more serious.
After a series of disturbing events began taking place on their farm, including a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign being burned and several of their animals being mysteriously killed, the Mallery’s claim they turned to police for help.
However, when they called upon police to report their racist neighbors for harassment, they claimed they were the ones who faced backlash. In fact, Nicole Mallery ended up being placed in handcuffs and arrested.
Despite the fact that the Mallery’s are known as stewards in their community, they claim they are being targeted and unlawfully charged with criminal stalking by their white neighbors as retaliation.
Could there be deep rooted racism occuring in Yoder, Colorado? Or is there more to the story? The Shade Room investigates…
Black Farmers Find Cattle Gutted, Dog Poisoned As Reportedly Racist Neighbor Makes Their Lives Hell
Their “Freedom Acres” ranch sits on hundreds of acres and had been abandoned prior to the Mallery’s took it over. Since then, many of the aforementioned incidents have occurred, prompting the couple to confront their neighbors.
The Mallery’s even got the police involved, who ended up arresting them instead of their neighbors.
And yet morning after morning, Courtney would wake up to find cattle gutted, their dog poisoned with antifreeze, and random unmarked cars blocking their entranceway, amongst other disturbing situations.
Nicole says her neighbors even went so far as to create racist and private Facebook groups.
“Lynching us, causing a lynching mob, public hangings, lock us up and set us on fire,” Nicole told local media. “We don’t want to become a hashtag.”
The neighbor in question, Teresa Clark, is described as a woman in her 40’s who lives with her elderly mother. Clark’s property shares an easeway – a narrow road that leads to both homes – with the Mallery’s, and has been a source of much vitriol between them.
Racist Neighbor Filed Her Own Affidavit Against The Couple Claiming She’s “In Fear For Her Safety”
Clark filed her own affidavit against the Mallery’s, claiming she “is in fear for her safety.”
“Mrs. Clark is in fear for her safety due to unusual and disturbing behavior from the residents to the north of her property, the Mallery’s,” Clark alleges.
She eventually provided authorities with photos and videos in an effort to back up her claims, accusing the Mallery’s of yelling “hands up, don’t shoot!” to her and told Clark what to pack for heaven, the affidavit reads.
Clark also told police that the Mallery’s visited her home six times in one day back in October 2022, and installed several security cameras across the street from Clark’s home.
Nicole says she believes Clark is trying to steal their land from them “because they don’t believe we deserve it.”
It’s been a mess ever since, with both parties filing upwards of 20 restraining orders against one another over the years.
But things really escalated last year when authorities began investigating the Mallery’s for stalking accusations.
Bodycam Footage Shows Process Server Running For His Life As Nicole Mallery Fired Warning Shot
Bodycam footage taken from a process server hired to serve the Mallery’s legal papers shows him running away in terror from Nicole yelling “I’m leaving!” numerous times as he fled.
The process server says Nicole fired a warning shot as he ran.
When deputies arrived to get her side of the story, Nicole said the man never provided any identification, and that she had just taken a shower when she noticed a white man looking through her windows, she told authorities.
She went on to tell cops that she wanted to file a complaint because of trespassing and that she believed the process server was trying to rape her.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said it isn’t a crime to brandish a weapon unless it’s done so “threateningly,” like Nicole did when the process server arrived on her property.
Weeks after the shooting incident, authorities began investigating the Mallery’s and served a search warrant of their home.
“It was determined after a risk assessment that the property was to be secured by a SWAT team,” El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Christopher Gonzalez said.
Nicole Arrested By SWAT Team, Pleaded Guilty To Filing False Police Report
Nicole was ultimately arrested by members of the SWAT team, prompting her to lash out at officers as they attempted to detain her. The scene got so bad that authorities had to have Nicole medically evaluated.
NAACP Rocky Mountain chapter president Portia Prescott asked TSR Investigates who wouldn’t be scared if a SWAT team busted through the front door without warning?
“Imagine this, you have 640 acres of land, you’re in the state of Colorado, a state where there is only four percent Black people, and then these armed officers show up to serve a warrant predicated on what one white woman said?”
According to the Denver Post, Nicole nevertheless pleaded guilty to making a false police report and got two years probation.
Local Authorities Attempt To Paint Black Farmer Couple As Bad, Dangerous, Social Media Fights Back
Meanwhile, local authorities in Colorado have continued to paint the Mallery’s in a bad light, telling reporters officers responded to upwards of 170 calls a their residence in Yoder.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has released a comprehensive collection of reports related to the dispute here.
The Mallery’s claim that is all a deflection from the fact that officer’s took Clark’s report seriously and not their accounts of racism and harassment.
Fast forward to Feb. 2023, and police have since opened another investigation over the surveillance video cameras on their property, with police supporting Clark’s side of the story claiming the Mallery’s had the cameras set up to directly surveil their neighbor.
Outside of Yoder, the Mallery’s have found sympathetic supporters on social media, who have since helped to raise money and protest.
The couple also asked lawmakers to pass the “Karen Bill,” which would make it a hate crime to falsely and racially call in a 911 report.
The NAACP says they are pushing for federal charges against Clark in this case as the stalking claims play out in court. A GoFundMe page has raised over $216,000 out of a $250,000 goal as of Thursday.
The Shade Room had previously reported on Black farmers and landowners last week, be sure to check it out here for an in-depth report.
