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Left: Patrick Egan (Mesa County Sheriff’s Office). Right: President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
A 40-year-old U.S. Marine veteran in Colorado will go to trial just over a year after he was arrested and charged with attacking a television reporter while demanding to know whether the victim was “even a U.S. citizen” and telling him, “This is Trump’s America now.”
Patrick Egan on Tuesday formally pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree assault, committing a bias-motivated crime, and harassment for allegedly assailing KKCO News reporter Ja’Ronn Alex, who is of Pacific Islander descent.
According to a report from Colorado Public Radio News, Egan’s public defender, Ruth Swift, told the court that her client intends to take his case to trial early next year.
Court records show that Egan’s jury trial is currently slated to begin on Jan. 12, 2026, before 21st Judicial District Judge Jennilynn Lawrence and is scheduled to last for five days.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Egan on Dec. 18, 2024, was driving a taxi for a local company called Sunshine Rides when he allegedly spotted and followed Alex for roughly 40 miles until they arrived at the joint NBC and ABC news station where he works as a multimedia journalist.
Once there, Egan “tackled and choked” Alex before several of his coworkers stepped in to restrain Egan and help the reporter, according to a press release. Alex reportedly told police he thought he was assaulted due to his race.
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Alex told investigators he was out reporting before he went back to the news station. He said Egan started chasing him immediately after he exited his vehicle. He demanded to see Alex’s identification and allegedly started choking him in an attack that was at least partially caught on surveillance footage.
“[Alex] explained the driver, later identified as [Egan], had begun to shout at him saying something to the effect of, ‘Are you even a U.S. Citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!'” the probable cause affidavit reportedly said.
During a hearing in January, Lawrence emphasized the egregious nature of the charges against Egan.
“I was fully prepared to increase your bond today,” the judge told him during a proceedings at the Mesa County Justice Center, per Courthouse News. “Certainly, I think when you are in your right mind, you would know these are not the types of behaviors we would expect of Marines, and similarly they are not the types of behaviors we can have in the community.”
Several of Egan’s friends and family members attended the January hearing to show their support for him, with Swift reportedly telling the court that he had been struggling with mental health issues for more than a decade and assured the court that he would get proper treatment.
Egan is currently out on bond and scheduled to appear in court again for a motions hearing on Dec. 1.
