The Colorado Republican Party has censured state Sen. Larry Liston, saying the veteran Colorado Springs Republican legislator pursued an “unwarranted” and “inappropriate” criminal complaint against the husband of the chairwoman of the El Paso County GOP over an alleged physical altercation at a party meeting.

The state GOP’S executive committee voted on Nov. 9 to formally rebuke Liston for using his position and political connections to encourage the prosecution of Rex Tonkins on a misdemeanor harassment charge after Liston alleged Tonkins “chest-bumped” him at the end of a tense county Republican meeting at a church on Dec. 6, 2021.

Tonkins, who is married to El Paso County Republican Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins, denied he was acting aggressively and was acquitted in August after a one-day jury trial in Colorado Springs Municipal Court.

As part of the censure resolution, state Republicans also apologized to Rex Tonkins “for the harm that occurred to him personally and financially because of the actions taken by Sen. Liston.”

Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams said he plans to ask Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade to look into whether Liston exerted improper influence on the city’s police chief to reopen the case after the officer who took Liston’s initial statement concluded there wasn’t probable cause to pursue charges.

Williams, a former three-term state legislator, said he also plans to notify Florida Gov. Ron Desantis’ presidential campaign about the censure, noting that Liston recently endorsed Desantis over former President Don

ald Trump in next year’s primary.

“It’s very disappointing, and, to be honest, it’s pretty hurtful, for all I’ve done for the party,” Liston said. “As a loyal, dedicated Republican for 43 years, I’m pretty chagrined that I’ve been censured by people who are not even at the event — and under false pretenses.”

Liston, 71, said that Rex Tonkins confronted a group of elected officials, including Liston, as a contentious party meeting concluded, and aggressively bumped Liston after the lawmaker told the younger man to calm down.

“I’m a big boy, but he was very aggressive that night,” Liston said. “At the conclusion of the meeting, which was adjourned early — the meeting was out of control — I went over to get my jacket, and he came up to me, and he did a chest bump.”

A jury disagreed, however, prompting state GOP executive committee member Brad Collins to propose censuring Liston for abusing his power, allegedly to harm a private citizen for “expressing concern over (Liston’s) substandard voting record.”

As part of his case against Liston, Collins submitted an 8-minute video compilation that included police bodycam footage of Liston’s initial statement describing the incident and a subsequent interview with another officer in an interrogation room. Set to menacing background music — a scary-sounding electronic track called “Sinister” — the video includes titles inserted by Collins, including one that maintains Liston displayed “political corruption” when he suggested law enforcement could use a law he helped pass to prosecute Tonkins.

“Demand Sen. Larry Liston resign now!” Collins’ video concluded.

Citing passages depicted in the video, the censure resolution asserted that Liston “bragged that ‘the DA knows me well’ during the initial police interview” and “admitted” that he leaned on Police Chief Adrian Vasquez to reopen the investigation.

Liston denied that he was throwing his weight around, insisting that anyone can ask police to revisit a complaint. He added that he was concerned that the rookie officer who took his initial statement hadn’t understood what happened.

While Collins’ initial censure resolution proposed that the party withdraw “all current and future support” from Liston and declare that Liston “has rendered himself unfit for office,” the resolution approved by the committee dropped those provisions.

“I’m not crying — far from it — but, geez, if this is what our party has devolved to, I’ve never seen anything like this in all my 43 years in the party,” Liston said after the vote. “This is the thanks and the payback I get. No wonder people are leaving our party in droves.”

Liston, who served a term in the early 2000s as state GOP vice chairman, added sarcastically: “They raised a lot of money tonight, and they really got people enthused about the Colorado Republican Party, and they really helped elect Republicans tonight. They’re really on message.”

It’s the latest in a series of formal, competing disciplinary actions adopted in the last year by the El Paso County and state Republicans.

A year ago, just days before the 2022 election, Vickie Tonkins spearheaded a resolution that censured Liston and dozens of other current and former Republican elected officials, candidates and party volunteers for campaigning with a group of local Republicans who said they couldn’t count on the county party to support GOP nominees. The state party countered a month later by censuring Tonkins, saying she “flagrantly and intentionally violated her duty as County Chairman” by opposing her own party’s nominees.

The Colorado Federation of Republican Women voted in April to impose a lifetime ban on Vickie Tonkins’ membership in the group and remove her as president of a local chapter, citing her failure to support some Republican candidates in last fall’s election.

The county and state Repubican parties sparred this year — including in court, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills — over whether Vickie Tonkins could run her county party’s leadership election. While the state GOP eventually prevailed, preventing Tonkins from overseeing her bid for another term as chairwoman, she won reelection handily.

Last month, the El Paso County GOP, under Tonkins, expelled three members of its central committee — including two former state lawmakers — for organizing Peak Republicans, the campaign group that spawned the county party’s year-old censure resolution, charging them with using the word “Republicans” without permission.

Liston served six nonconsecutive terms in the state House before his election in 2020 to represent Senate District 10 — after a court battle between the Senate district’s Republican committee and the state GOP over whether a primary opponent had qualified for the ballot.

Liston said he anticipates the county party will use this week’s censure resolution against him to support a primary challenger in his run for reelection next year.

“Now that the local parties are not obligated to stay neutral during a primary, they will weaponize this if they can,” he said.

Liston said he isn’t daunted. “I’m very confident that the people in my district — I’ve only lived in the district for 57 years — that they know me, they trust me, they like me, and they will continue to vote for me.”