Mike Lynch, the Colorado Republican House Minority Leader running for Congress, was just outed by The Denver Post for his drunk driving arrest in September 2022. Lynch, who had tried to keep the arrest a secret from the public, was not only accused of driving under the influence, but was reportedly doing so while carrying a gun and driving 90 mph on I-25. And now he's blaming his poor judgement on Denver crime.
"Yes, I had a gun on me because I work in Denver, right?" he said on the local Dan Caplis Show, according to Mediaite. "That is a safety measure that I keep with me coming in and out of the Capitol."
However, the frightened gentleman "was arrested in September, while the legislature was not in session," reported 9News. "He was stopped while driving between a non-political event in Fort Collins and his home in Wellington, 92 and 105 miles from Denver, respectively." In other words, he's just a nervous soul no matter where he is, Denver or not. (See recently released video of his arrest below, posted by ABC affiliate reporter Brandon Richard.)
From Mediaite:
The Post first reported on the September 2022 arrest last week and since then Lynch has survived a razor-thin 9-9 no-confidence vote in his leadership among state house Republicans.
Lynch, who is currently on probation, said, "I have fully accepted, and I own the mistake I made in 2022, that's what leaders do," in a statement after surviving the no-confidence vote.
However, as the scandal has played out in the state, Lynch has gone on the offense blaming everything from the media "hit job" to crime in Denver for his troubles.
"The media were upset they didn't know about it a year and a half ago, so they took it to me," Lynch, who is now running for Congress, told local radio's Dan Caplis Show on Monday.
When asked why he was armed while driving drunk, Caplis cited the fact that the state house is in Denver and as a result, he needed to protect himself.
This story is similar to that of Florida Republican Party Chair Evan Power (who replaced Chair Christian Ziegler, who was ousted over rape allegations), whose own DUI video from 2018 just surfaced. Leadership at its finest.
