A 40-year-old US Marine veteran will stand trial in Colorado just over a year after being arrested and charged with assaulting a television reporter while demanding to know whether the victim was “even a U.S. citizen” and telling him, “This is Trump’s America now.”
Patrick Egan formally pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of second-degree assault, committing a bias-motivated crime, and harassment after allegedly assaulting KKCO News reporter Ja’Ronn Alex, who is of Pacific Islander descent.
According to Colorado Public Radio News, Ruth Swift, Egan’s public defender, informed the court that her client plans to go to trial early next year.
According to court records, Egan’s jury trial is scheduled to begin on January 12, 2026, before 21st Judicial District Judge Jennilynn Lawrence, and will last five days.
As Law&Crime previously reported, on December 18, 2024, Egan was driving a taxi for a local company called Sunshine Rides when he allegedly spotted and followed Alex for approximately 40 miles until they arrived at the joint NBC and ABC news station where he works as a multimedia journalist.
According to the press release, Egan “tackled and choked” Alex before several of his coworkers intervened to restrain him and assist the reporter. Alex reportedly told police he believed he was assaulted because of his race.
Alex told investigators he was out reporting before returning to the news station. He claimed that Egan began chasing him as soon as he exited his vehicle. He demanded Alex’s identification and allegedly began choking him in an attack captured on surveillance footage.
“[Alex] explained that the driver, later identified as [Egan], had begun to shout at him, saying something along the lines of, ‘Are you even a US citizen? This is Trump’s America today! “I’m a Marine, and I swore an oath to protect this country from people like you!” the probable cause affidavit reportedly read.
Lawrence emphasized the gravity of the charges against Egan at a hearing in January.
“I was fully prepared to increase your bond today,” the judge told him during a hearing at the Mesa County Justice Center, according to Courthouse News. “Certainly, I think when you are in your right mind, you would know these are not the types of behaviors we would expect of Marines, and similarly they are not the types of behaviors we can have in the community.”
Several of Egan’s friends and family members attended the January hearing to show their support, with Swift reportedly telling the court that he had been dealing with mental health issues for over a decade and that he would receive proper treatment.
Egan is currently free on bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a motions hearing on December 1.
