Charges dropped against Black El Paso County ranchers accused of stalking
Wednesday was another day at Freedom Acres Ranch for Courtney Mallery. He spent the morning taking care of his cows and pigs.
"I got a little bit of a job but it's fun," he said.
He says bought the ranch in rural El Paso County to tackle food inequality and feed people.
"I thought I was doing something, you know, honorable," Courtney said.
But earlier this year, he almost lost it all. He and his wife, Nicole, were arrested and charged with felony stalking after a dispute with their neighbor turned ugly and racial. Courtney and Nicole were shocked.
"I've always, you know, knew I didn't do anything," Courtney said.
Then last week, the district attorney in El Paso County dropped all charges. According to Nicole and Courtney's lawyer, prosecutors could not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Mallerys say they aren't surprised because they didn't do anything wrong.
"It's clear that they were directly targeting us and they weren't doing proper investigations," Nicole said.
While this ordeal has been painful, they say they've also received a lot of support from the community.
"I think the people in the community, who don't tolerate hate and racism far outweigh the group of thugs that do, but I think there's a lot of things that still need to be addressed," Nicole said.
They say their animals are being poisoned and the racial intimidation continues. This time they say their allies are being targeted as well.
"There is a young lady who came out with her children and they told her that if she supported us, she was a disgrace to the white race," Nicole said.
They have installed security cameras for protection, but ultimately, they say it's their faith in God that is helping them get through.
"It's just you know, you know, relying a whole lot on faith and hope and prayer, you know, that, you know, that would just make it," Courtney said.
If you want to support Freedom Acres Ranch by buying meat you can email freedomacres1@gmail.com.