Judge blocks meeting organized to decide fate of Colorado Republican Party chairman Dave Williams

TONIGHT. THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR DENVER. 7 NEWS AT 10. I'M SHANNON OGDEN AND I'M JESSICA PORTER. >> A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER GRANTED TODAY BLOCKING REPUBLICAN LEADERS FROM HOLDING AN UNOFFICIAL MEETING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH WILLIAMS. CALLS FOR HIS RESIGNATION BEGAN WITH AN ANTI LGBTQ EMAIL. WILLIAMS SAID LAST MONTH. >> NOW THAT MASS E-MAIL SET DUBY THE WAY, CALLED THAT COMMUNITY, QUOTE, GODLESS GROOMERS WHO WANT TO HARM CHILDREN. IT ALSO CALLED FOR THE BURNING OF PRIDE. FLAGS. BUT DESPITE THE FALLOUT AND BACKLASH FROM HIS OWN PARTY, WILLIAMS SAID HE WOULD NOT APOLOGIZE. A SPECIAL MEETING WAS SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW IN AN EFFORT TO REMOVE WILLIAMS. >> FROM FROM HIS POSITION. BUT THAT IS NOT WILL NO LONGER HAPPENING. >> DENVER, 7 REPORTER AND ATTORNEY JESSICA CRAWFORD JOINS US WITH THE NEW RESTRAINING ORDER AND WHY REPUBLICANS SAY THIS ISN'T THE END OF THEIR WORK TO GET RID OF ONE. THAT'S RIGHT. SO BEFORE THTHIS MEETING FROM HAPPENING 7, COLORADO REPUBLICANS TODAY SENT A LETTER TO WILLIAMS URGING HIM TO RESIGN. NOW AMONG THOSE ON THE LETTER, SENATE MINORITY LEADER PAUL LUNDEEN AND THE 6 REPUBLICAN NOMINEES THEY WROTE IF WILLIAMS DIDN'T VOLUNTARILY RESIGN, THEN THEYSTATE CENTRAL VOTE AND MEET TOMORROW TO REMOVE HIM. BUT FOR NOW, THAT WILL BE HAPPENING. BUT WHEELS ARE STILL TURNING TO GET WILLIAMS OUT OF THERE. >> HERE'S A LOOK AT THE JUDGE'S ORDER. IT COMES AFTER SOME HIGH-PROFILE BEHAVIOR FROM DAVID WILLIAMS CHEER OF THE COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY BACK IN JUNE WILLIAMSON TOWN, ANTI LGBTQ MESSAGES DURING PRIDE MONTH. HE WAS ALSO ACCUSED OF USING PARTY RESOURCES TO PROMOTE HIS CAMPAIGN FOR CONGRESS IN COLORADO'S 5TH DISTRICT LEADING SEVERAL REPUBLICANS INCLUDING DAN WILLIAMS, COMMISSIONER IN TELLER COUNTY TO CALL FOR HIM TO STEP DOWN AS HEAD OF COLORADO'S REPUBLICAN PARTY. I DON'T KNOW WHO HE THINKS HE IS. THE LAWSUIT SAYS BACK IN JUNE, A MEMBER OF THE JEFFERSON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY RESIGNATION AS THE COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN THREATENING TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING AND SHARING NEWS ABOUT THE MEETING THROUGH OFFICIAL CHANNELS AND MEDIA OUTLETS. DAN WILLIAMS SAYS THE OUSTER HAS BEEN BREWING FOR A LONG TIME. THERE'VE BEEN LOTS OF PEOPLE IN THE PASSIVE, TRIED TO TALK TO HIM PRIVATELY. >> THEY'VE LETTERS PRIVATELY. THE JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKED THE MEETING FROM TAKING PLACE, WRITING THAT THE DEFENDANTS DIDN'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CALL THE MEETING AND SAYING THE MEETING COULD CAUSE IMMEDIATE HARM BECAUSE, QUOTE, THE LEADERSHIP OF THE COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY WOULD BE CALLED INTO QUESTION LEAVING THE PARTY IN ROUGHLY 100 DAYS BEFORE ELECTION DAY ON NOVEMBER. 5TH 2024. DAN WILLIAMS SAYS THE JUDGE'S DECISION ONLY DELAYS THE INEVITABLE VOTE FOR WILLIAMS REMOVAL. A DELAY OF A FEW WEEKS TILL THE END OF AUGUST WHILE REGRETTABLE WILL HAVE THE EXACT SAME OUTCOME, CHAIRMAN WORKERS WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE SEAT. >> TODD WATKINS, A DEFENDANT IN THE LAWSUIT, SAYS HE WAS NEVER SERVED WITH IT AND DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE TO RESPOND. HE CONTENDS THAT THE RIGHT PROTOCOLS WERE FOLLOWED WHEN THE MEETING WAS PLANNED. I TRIED REACHING OUT TO DAVE WILLIAMS HAVEN'T GOTTEN A RESPONSE. IN THE MEANTIME, WHILE THE MEETING TO OUST HIM IS NOT HAPPENING TOMORROW, MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ARE STILL MEETING TO DISCUSS ITS FUTURE AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE IN THE MORNING. I'M TOLD BY MULTIPLE SOURCES THEY PLAN TO HOST ANOTHER MEETING TO OUST DAVE WILLIAMS SOON REPORTING IN THE STUDIO. I'M JESSICA CRAWFO AND THE FORM EL PASO COUNTY GOP IS SEEKING TO REPLACE WILLIAMS AS THE CHAIRMAN. >> ELI BREMER TELLS DENVER 7 THAT THE DIVISION WITHIN THE STATE PARTY IS HURTING POTENTIAL FUNDING. >> REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, IT WAS 50 MILLION DOLLARS TO STATE PARTIES. THE COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY GOT 0. THEY CANNOT FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THEM. IT THIS IS HURTING OUR CANDIDATES, WHETHER IT BE THE CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES OR THE DOWN TICKET RACES ALL THE WAY DOWN. THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND STATE REPS RI >> ARE SENT A LETTER TO CENTRAL