Cheyenne man pleads not guilty to intimidation of election officials

CHEYENNE – Joshua Hayden-Ali, known to local store owners as “Wisdom,” pleaded not guilty Thursday to trespassing, disturbing the peace and intimidation charges.

The charges stem from an incident on August 6, when Hayden-Ali entered the Laramie County government complex, allegedly disrupted a polling place and tore up election materials.

As of June 29, 2023, Hayden-Ali is prohibited from entering the courthouse until 2033. This means that due to several previous incidents of disruptive and threatening behavior, he is not legally allowed to be in the courthouse unless he is there for official business.

On the day of the incident, Laramie County Sheriff's Deputy Ramon Colvert responded to a call from an employee at a local coffee shop. The employee sounded stressed and repeated the phrase “he was here” to Colvert twice, referring to Hayden-Ali, according to the probable cause affidavit.

When Ramon arrived on the scene, he was able to confirm that Hayden-Ali was in the building and had been asked by election officials to leave, but he ignored the request and walked through the building, tapping his staff with each step.

Hayden-Ali claimed he was at the courthouse on official business and was meeting with his public defender, but the public defender's office confirmed he had no meetings scheduled with them that day.

According to court documents, the situation escalated when Hayden-Ali entered the polling station despite being asked to leave. He eventually left the polling station, tore up printed voting materials he had taken with him, and threw the remains on the floor.

During the incident in the atrium, according to the arrest affidavit, at least one voter told poll worker Charles Simineo that he was concerned about the safety of election officials.

As he left the atrium, Hayden-Ali was challenged by Culvert to speak, which caused Hayden-Ali to curse at Culvert.

Instead of speaking to Culvert, Hayden-Ali attempted to get through security while continuing to swear. When he was asked to stop using foul language because there were children present, he directed his swear words at the deputy at the security desk.

When it became clear that Hayden-Ali was not going to stop his behavior, the deputy loudly told Ali not to go upstairs in the courthouse and ordered him to leave the building, which he did, according to the arrest affidavit.

During his arraignment on Thursday, Hayden-Ali pleaded not guilty to charges of trespassing, disturbing the peace and intimidation. Trespassing and disturbing the peace are both misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in prison and/or a $750 fine.

In Wyoming, knowingly intimidating people with the goal of influencing an election is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Hayden-Ali was originally charged with intimidation, but the charge was amended on August 13 to state that Hayden-Ali attempted to “obstruct or prevent the free exercise of the franchise or the impartial administration of the franchise.”

Hayden-Ali is free on $1,500 bail posted in his name earlier this month. His trial is scheduled for December 30.