Activist behind anti-trans campaign accuses reporter of misquoting her, then it backfires
Erin Lee (Erin for Parental Rights)
A campaigner who backed anti-trans ballots in Colorado, who accused a television reporter of fabricating quotes about her, has been challenged after the journalist produced footage appearing to back up his reporting.
Erin Lee is the founder of Protect Kids Colorado, a group seeking to put three measures on the state’s 2026 ballot. One would mandate life imprisonment without parole for child sex traffickers, while the other two would ban trans young people from gender-segregated school sports and restrict certain forms of gender-affirming care for minors.
The dispute began when Lee criticised 9NEWS reporter Kyle Clark on X, claiming he had smeared her.
“Kyle Clark has put out stories that I am a cult leader who covers children in blood. With zero evidence or chance for comment,” she wrote, adding that she chose “not to live in fear of him”. She described her initiatives as “non-partisan, common sense” and said she welcomed support from across the political spectrum, insisting she could “handle taking criticism from all sides”.
Clark denied ever having called Lee a “cult leader”, but stood by his coverage. In response, he shared a 2021 clip of Lee speaking, writing: “I’ve accurately quoted you as saying your ballot initiatives about trans kids are a ‘spiritual battle’ for children to ‘cover them in the blood of Jesus.'”
In the footage, Lee was speaking about LGBTQ+ “ideology” rather than the ballot measures specifically, using the religious phrasing Clark had attributed to her.
Clark also re-shared a segment he had previously broadcast about Lee, in which she described Colorado legislators as “actual demons”, and which featured her being interviewed by Lance Wallnau, a Christian nationalist figure who describes himself as a prophet.
Lee has not publicly provided examples of the specific “cult leader” or “covers children in blood” wording she attributed to Clark. PinkNews has approached both Lee and 9NEWS for comment.
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