BOEBERT ENDORSED HIM. LARIMER COUNTY ARRESTED HIM.
Hunter Rivera Faces Felony Child Sex Charges.
Lauren Boebert publicly endorsed Hunter Rivera. Weld County Republicans made him their chairman. On May 14, 2026, Larimer County booked him into jail on multiple felony charges involving alleged solicitation of sex with a child. American Muckrakers demands the Weld County GOP return or redirect to NCMEC every dollar Rivera donated, bundled, or raised.
SPRUCE PINE, NC. May 17, 2026. Hunter Rivera, the sitting chairman of the Weld County (Colorado) Republican Party, has been arrested in a Larimer County law-enforcement sting and is facing felony charges involving alleged efforts to buy sex from a child.
Per Colorado Politics, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigators posed as minors online. Several dozen people responded. Two men showed up at the agreed location to pay for sex with a child and were arrested on the spot. Rivera was one of them.
The booking record (Case No. D0352026CR000697) is brutal:
18-7-402: Soliciting for Child Prostitution (F3)
18-3-405(1): Sexual Assault on a Child, Statutory Rape, No Force (F4)
18-3-306(1)(3): Internet Luring of a Child with Intent for Sexual Contact
18-5.5-102(1)(h): Cybercrime, Solicits or Offers to Arrange a Situation with a Minor
18-2-101(4): Criminal Attempt to Commit a Class 4 Felony
Rivera posted a $6,500 cash bond and walked out. First court appearance: Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 7:30 AM, Courtroom 5A, Fort Collins Justice Center, Laporte Avenue.
Sheriff John Feyen put it plainly: “Children are not property to be bought or sold.”
Boebert Does Not Get to Play Bystander
On February 7, 2025, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-04) declared, in writing, for the world to read:
“I will proudly be supporting Hunter Rivera for Weld County GOP Chair.”
She did not say it quietly. She did not hedge. She said “proudly.” She put her name, her office, and her brand behind him. Weld County Republicans followed her lead and made him chairman by acclamation.
Now she has sprinted toward the fire extinguisher. Per Colorado Politics, Boebert calls the allegations “vile and indefensible,” says she is “angry and disgusted,” and demands Rivera’s removal.
Fine. Good. Correct. Not enough.
This was not a stranger Boebert bumped into at a rope line. This is the man she “proudly” promoted into the chair of the most consequential GOP county in her district. That is not distance. That is proximity. That is not “who could have known?” That is “you put him in the chair.”
Return the Money
American Muckrakers PAC formally calls on the Weld County Republican Party to take these actions within 72 hours:
Publicly disavow Hunter Rivera and pull every slate card, mailer, email, and event listing tied to him.
Account for every dollar Rivera donated to the Weld County GOP, bundled for it, solicited on its behalf, or steered into its committees, candidates, clubs, and affiliated PACs.
Refund the money to donors where practical. Where refund is not practical, donate the equivalent amount to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Publish the receipts. Open the books. Let the voters of Weld County see who took his money and where it went.
Anything less is complicity.
And Boebert should lead the demand. If she had the political weight to elevate Rivera to chair, she has the political weight to force a clean financial accounting now. She should demand the records, demand the refunds, demand the NCMEC donation, and identify every campaign, candidate, or committee that benefited from Rivera’s fundraising or organizing.
That is what accountability looks like.
Questions Boebert and the Weld GOP Must Answer Today
How much did Hunter Rivera donate to the Weld County GOP?
How much did he raise, bundle, or solicit for Weld GOP events, clubs, candidates, or committees?
Did Rivera raise or organize funds connected to Lauren Boebert or her political operation?
Will Boebert publicly demand every Rivera-linked dollar be refunded or donated to NCMEC?
Will the Weld County GOP publish a full accounting within 72 hours?
How many other hand-picked candidates has Boebert “proudly” endorsed without basic due diligence?
These are not complicated questions. They are only uncomfortable.
No More “Protect the Children” Theater
The Republican brand is built on moral panic. Drag queens. Libraries. Teachers. School boards. Books. Bathrooms. Pronouns. Every week, another staged outrage about children.
But when a sitting county GOP chair is arrested in a child predator sting, the same people suddenly want process, quiet, grace, and carefully worded statements.
No.
Children deserve protection from actual predators, not campaign slogans about imaginary ones.
Help Us Put Him on the Record
American Muckrakers wants Hunter Rivera on tape. He is out on bond. He has not yet been arraigned. The window to ask him hard questions, in person, before his attorneys fully lock him down, is open right now.
If we can raise the funds within 72 hours, we will dispatch a reporter to Colorado to interview Rivera and ask the questions Boebert and the Weld County GOP do not want answered:
What is the full extent of your relationship with Lauren Boebert? Endorsements, fundraising, joint events, private communications, coordinated organizing. All of it.
Did Lauren Boebert, her campaign, or her political operation raise money through you, or benefit financially from your work at the Weld County GOP?
Will you seek a pardon from Donald Trump? (For the record: a U.S. president cannot pardon Colorado state offenses. We still want him to answer on tape.)
Will you ask Lauren Boebert to intervene on your behalf in any way, public or private?
Donate now at voteroi.com. Every dollar that comes in over the next 72 hours, restricted to this story, will go directly to travel, on-the-ground reporting, and getting Hunter Rivera on the record before his lawyers shut the door.
We do not need much. We need it fast.
The Bottom Line
Hunter Rivera is entitled to due process in court.
Lauren Boebert is not entitled to political amnesia.
The Weld County GOP is not entitled to keep one dollar raised through a chairman now facing felony charges involving alleged crimes against children.
They backed him. They elevated him. They benefited from him.
Now they can clean it up.
Return the money. Donate the rest to NCMEC. Publish the receipts.
Anything less is just another sermon from the party of family values, delivered from the bottom of a very dirty barrel.
About the Author
David B. Wheeler is President of American Muckrakers PAC, Inc. and founder of VoteROI (voteroi.com), a donor intelligence platform built on 86.9 million FEC records covering federal races from 2000 to 2026. American Muckrakers has been firing fools since 2021.
Disclaimer
Paid for by American Muckrakers PAC II (americanmuckrakers.com). Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Donations made to American Muckrakers, Inc. are not deductible for federal or state tax purposes.
This essay constitutes protected speech and commentary, opinion, and advocacy on matters of public concern under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is not a legal pleading, sworn statement, affidavit, or admission of fact.
Charges are allegations. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The endorsement, the quote, and the booking record are matters of public fact.
This work may not be used for commercial purposes without the express written consent of American Muckrakers PAC, Inc. and David B. Wheeler.
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And, Lauren Boebert never sued me.
I admire you for doing this. Wow. Good for you.
Great work as always.