Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/645573
DAVIDZALUBOWSKI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff's Department deputies speak to one another Thursday in Bailey during an investigation in a nearby home. BySadieGurmanand Donna Bryson The Associated Press BAILEY, COLO. Authori- ties brought numbers this time in case of trouble, but they never expected a long- delayed eviction would turn into a deadly shoot- out with a Colorado man who peacefully refused to leave his foreclosed home two years earlier. Martin Wirth ranted against law enforcement corruption and beat a mur- der charge more than 20 years ago, but officers who followed him inside the mountain house did not expect he would turn his rifle on them. When the smoke cleared, three dep- uties had been shot, one fa- tally, and Wirth was dead. The 58-year-old was a political activist whose life was pocked with vi- olent outbursts and run- ins with the law that cul- minated in Wednesday's bloodshed. But the eight officers who came to oust Wirth were more con- cerned he would run away than shoot at them, Sheriff Fred Wegener said Thurs- day. "We did not force a vi- olent confrontation yes- terday," said Wegener, who joined deputies at the scene of the botched-evic- tion. "Mr. Wirth did." The shootout shocked the community of Bai- ley where the slain dep- uty, Cpl. Nate Carrigan, was a familiar face. It also stunned some of Wirth's friends, who recalled him as a well-intentioned activ- ist worn down by years of fighting for his home. "He definitely had an angry streak," said fel- low activist Chris Mandel, who shot a video of Wirth posted on the website of the Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition, an organization aligned with the Occupy Denver move- ment. "He was very idealis- tic. He really hated the in- justice of the world." In the video, Wirth said he refused to pay his mort- gage because he claimed lenders were criminals who had defrauded home- owners. The government- controlled mortgage com- pany Fannie Mae took ownership of his home in 2014. It was not clear why Wirth was allowed to re- main for two more years. Wegener said a previous attempt to evict Wirth in 2014 ended peacefully af- ter he talked to the sher- iff's office. Deputies finally posted the eviction notice on his door on Feb. 16, the sheriff said. Violenceatevictionnot ex pe ct ed d es pi te p as t DEPUTIES SHOT By Kathleen Hennessey and Josh Lederman The Associated Press WASHINGTON Searching for a way to put a new jus- tice on the nation's high- est court, President Barack Obama is hoping that all politics really is local — even Supreme Court poli- tics. The president and his al- lies are pressuring Repub- lican senators back home, aiming to make life politi- cally uncomfortable for the lawmakers who've vowed that only Obama's succes- sor will fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia. It's a long shot. Only a few Republicans have ex- pressed openness to even hold hearings on a nomi- nee. Obama must first get Republicans to break from leadership on that and then win confirmation support from 14 GOP senators. The president is still try- ing to make his case. The White House said Thursday Obama will meet next week with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic leader Harry Reid, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grass- ley and Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the com- mittee. Meanwhile, Obama has lobbied at least one sen- ator directly at the White House. The president spoke briefly Wednesday with Orrin Hatch of Utah, a for- mer Judiciary Committee chairman viewed as poten- tially sympathetic to con- cerns about the precedent set by the Republican op- position. Hatch said Thursday he wasn't swayed, though "I listened very carefully." The White House and its allies believe the real work is on the ground in places like Ohio, Wisconsin and New Hampshire — states where Republican senators face tough re-election cam- paigns — as well as Nevada, Pennsylvania and Florida, where independent voters often hold sway. In some states, incum- bent Republicans are wor- ried about challenges from even more conservative candidates, but Democrats hope GOP opposition to a confirmation vote will be- come untenable once the primary gives way to the general election. That's why People for the American Way and other advocates announced plans to protest Monday outside Sen. Kelly Ayotte's Man- chester, New Hampshire, office. Last week, the group asked actor Martin Sheen to record robocalls in Wis- consin urging Sen. Ron Johnson to "put his consti- tutional duties first." Meanwhile, the Dem- ocratic Senatorial Cam- paign Committee, an arm of Obama's party, has tar- geted Republicans in Wis- consin, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Nevada and Florida for opposing consideration of Obama's nominee. The Senate Major- ity PAC, a super PAC work- ing to elect Senate Demo- crats, is spending $1.5 mil- lion on ads against Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Johnson and other Repub- licans. The effort has been aided by the editorial pages of lo- cal newspapers, still an in- fluential force in statewide elections. In Pennsylvania, the Scranton Times-Tri- bune's editorial page wrote that "Toomey should de- sist" from what it called GOP "defiance of the pub- lic will." And the Quad- City Times in Iowa ac- cused Grassley on Thurs- day of having "gripped the grenade he's clutching and pulled the pin." "It's only a matter of time before, one way or another, it blows up in the GOP's col- lective face," the paper's ed- itorial board wrote. The Democrats' efforts aren't always direct. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada pub- licly talked up his home state governor, Republican Brian Sandoval, as a pos- sible nominee. The notion was quickly condemned by the Democratic base, but it also put the pressure on Dean Heller, who was ap- pointed to the Senate by Sandoval. By Thursday, the gover- nor ended the chatter when he announced he was hon- ored, but not interested. POLITICS In court fight, Democrats pressure GOP at home J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., right, and other Democrats, holds a copy of the Constitution as he urges Senate Republicans to relent on their decision to take no action on anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. 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