Ahead of Colorado’s primary elections, June 30, the IJN spoke with three Democratic candidates for Attorney General: Michael Dougherty, Jena Griswold and David Seligman. The IJN also spoke with two Republican candidates for Attorney General: Michael Allen and David Willson, and reached out to Democratic candidate Hetal Doshi.
Michael Dougherty has worked in the Colorado and Manhattan AG office. He is Boulder County District Attorney. He prosecuted the Boulder firebomber of June 1, 2025.
What do you think the most important part of the AG’s job is?
We’re living through an extraordinarily challenging time with the lawless Trump administration breaking the rule of law violating the Constitution and harming Colorado.
As long as that remains true the Attorney General is on the front lines and taking the Trump administration to court to protect Colorado.
I will always fight to protect Colorado and to do justice. That’s the mission.
I’ve had my entire career as a prosecutor.
Colorado’s at a crossroads when it comes to public safety, including hate crimes, environmental protection, election integrity and civil rights, to name a few, and those are all issues I’m passionate about that I have experience in.
I’m looking forward to a day where as Attorney General I could focus less on defending Colorado from the federal government and more on building a better future for Colorado.
In what ways does suing the Trump administration benefit individual Coloradans’ lives?
There are a couple ways in which it’s really important for the Attorney General to be experienced as a fighter, a prosecutor and a leader.
Look at Colorado’s funding where the Trump administration has indicated the willingness to retaliate against Colorado by cutting off [federal] funding for education. It’s only the action of the Attorney General that restored funding for education and healthcare and other areas in Colorado.
Also on water, an issue I’m really focused on, Trump administration vetoed a bill that was had strong bipartisan support — words that I don’t get to say often these days — that would have brought clean water to southeastern Colorado.
One of the main sponsors was Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), and Trump vetoed it. Even Rep. Boebert criticized Trump for that action against Colorado
Another particularly important piece is birthright citizenship, which is a constitutional right and if anyone doubts me on it, the US Supreme Court agreed with that in 1898.
Birthright citizenship was revoked on Trump’s first day in office. That would have resulted in the deportation of thousands of Coloradans who built their lives around that constitutional protection.
The only thing that stopped that from going into effect was action of the Attorney General of Colorado and other states who brought a lawsuit to block the order.
The final example is the US military being deployed to police American cities. I’ve had the privilege of working with outstanding men and women in law enforcement my entire career. That’s their job; it’s not the job of our US military service members.
That was agreed upon by courts in different states over and over until the Trump administration finally pulled back the US military from policing American cities.
Why is water a top priority for you? What is the AG’s impact?
It’s a core issue that Coloradans should all care about that.
I worked in the Attorney General’s office as a prosecutor, overseeing the Environmental Crimes Unit.
Water is the lifeblood of Colorado and the scarcity of water is something that’s obvious to everyone, but particularly the ranchers and farmers and those in rural Colorado.
The Attorney General plays a key role in three different respects.
First, the Colorado River Compact, an agreement between seven states, tribal nations, two countries, ends this year. If it’s not resolved by the upper basin and lower basin state, then it goes to the Trump administration to impose a comprehensive solution. If the Trump administration is retaliating against Colorado or denies Colorado the water we need to survive then it’s incumbent upon me as Attorney General to take the Trump administration to court.
It’s also about blocking private equity firms that have buy and dry schemes. They come in particularly poor communities and leverage financial incentive in return for water rights. That’s happened in the San Luis Valley and on the Western Slope.
The AG has the power and responsibility of blocking those buy and dry schemes.
Finally, holding corporate polluters responsible when they contaminate our water air or land. The AG’s office could do that through civil actions criminal prosecutions.
The AG is the attorney for all the state agencies — such as the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment.
On the environment more broadly, I’m going to block the Trump administration from selling off public lands for profit; 36% of Colorado’s lands are federal public lands. The idea that we’re going allow those to be sold off profit is outrageous to me.
I moved to Colorado from New York City for trail running and to raise our family here. I’m going to stand and fight for our environment and make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect the environment for today and for future generations including my kids.
Having led the investigation into the Marshall Fire, which took down a thousand homes, killed two people and caused the loss of a lot of pets here in Boulder County, I’m acutely aware of the importance of having an Attorney General who’s going to stand and fight for our environment.
What is the most disturbing case you’ve ever prosecuted?
The first that comes to mind is the horrific anti-Semitic act of terror committed on Pearl Street [June 1, 2025]here in Boulder on a day where I was literally on my way to give a speech on hate crimes. I got the call from Boulder PD that someone was throwing firebombs on Pearl Street.
I think most disturbing is likely that case because of the hate involved in carrying out the attack, the manner of the attack, particularly setting people on fire and then the murder of Karen Diamond, a beloved wife, mother and grandmother and community member.
We had 29 victims total and I was honored to fight for justice in that case. I was able to secure a guilty plea in each and every single charge and a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, plus 2,182 years in state prison on top.
In some ways that is symbolic, but it was important to all the victims that the sentences that were handed down also represented the harm that he caused them.
I had a case many years ago that stays with me.
On 9/11, I was in a prosecutor in Manhattan DA’s office downtown getting ready to start a trial. I was literally getting ready to give an opening statement in a violent robbery case when the first plane hit and I heard it outside the window.
I ended up with a case where a guy had falsely claimed to have found survivors in the rubble during the rescue operation. He did that because he was trying to get away with a theft he was committing in the shopping mall below the World Trade Center.
His false claim caused firefighters to risk their lives and go all the way down only to discover it was a complete hoax.
That was disturbing less because of the criminal charge and more about the circumstances.
I’ve had the responsibility of responding at times of crisis and in turning to the courts for justice, leading not only law enforcement but the community through times of crisis, and doing the best I can to secure justice.
The line between hate speech and actual threats is becoming difficult to navigate. How far does free speech go before it turns into a criminal threat?
It’s a timely question as we continue to see verbal attacks, threats, harassment and at times physical attacks against members of our Jewish community
It’s why I launched the first hate crimes initiative in the state of Colorado in 2018 when I became district attorney.
The first hate crimes community event I did as part of that initiative was at the Jewish Community Center in Boulder.
We scrutinize this a lot because we see threats all too often. For example, Rep. Joe Neguse had threats made against his office. We prosecuted that defendant. He was found guilty after we survived the First Amendment challenge from the defense.
We put a lot of time and effort into figuring out where that line is. It’s when there’s a specific imminent threat of physical harm against a particular individual. That’s close to the exact wording from the case law in Colorado.
I will always be very [Expertive] in protecting people, particularly marginalized and vulnerable communities, and not allowing people to abuse them or harm them or threaten them and try to use the First Amendment as a shield unless there’s actually a First Amendment claim there.
I’ve been very consistent in voicing my support for the Jewish community, saying that I will not support Colorado retirement funds divesting from Israel, for example.
To me it’s about being a consistent leader, partner and ally in the fight for the Jewish community and communities all around Colorado
You’re very active in the courtroom. How does that experience impact you as a candidate?
I know what it takes to prosecute a case and the fight for justice.
What I mean by that is not just standing in court and giving a good opening statement, but trying to decide: Do we have enough evidence to file this lawsuit against the Trump administration? That decision has to be made by the Attorney General and the Attorney General can only make that decision if they have experience as a lawyer.
When I was at the Manhattan DA’s office, I was put in charge of the day-to-day management and leadership of the entire office of 1,300 people. My one request was that I still have to handle cases. That’s the only way I have the respect to the staff. In my office in the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office I still handle cases.
Do we have enough evidence to file? Should I make a plea offer? What should we do with this case?
The Attorney General has to decide whether to take Donald Trump to court. If we make the wrong decision and lose in front of the US Supreme Court, that is a waste of taxpayer resources, but also undercuts the confidence and trust people have in the Attorney General’s office.
Leadership experience matters a lot, and operating with integrity.
We’re more divided than we’ve ever been as a country and I will never pursue a hyper-partisan agenda.
I’ve prosecuted elected officials who are Democrats and Republicans.
To me, it’s about doing justice without fear and without favor, and always making sure that I fight for all the people of Colorado, not just the people of my own political party.
I’m not term-limited. I also don’t need another job.
On the night Trump was elected to a second term, I was with my wife, Antonia. She looked at me and said, “You are running for Attorney General.”
I love the work I’m doing at the District Attorney’s office. But this moment in time for Colorado calls for each one of us to step up and do everything we can to fight for our democracy and to build a better future for Colorado.
© IJN 2026
