Huge protest sign taken down : rockymountainnews.com

GOLDEN — A gigantic protest sign that was visible from downtown Denver this morning has been removed from a hillside near Golden.

The American Right To Life Action unveiled the sign on North Table Mountain with dimensions the group said set a record for protest signs, as measured by the Guinness Book of Records. The group had hoped delegates, journalists and Democratic convention-goers would be able to see the sign which read, "Destroys uNborn Children."

The sign measured 530 feet tall by 666 feet wide, according to a press release. It had the letters D-N-C in huge yellow capitals arranged vertically.

Former Colorado Republican Party chairman and ARTL Action president Steve Curtis said the group began to hike up the mountain at 1 a.m. and finished erecting the sign at 8:30 a.m.

"The protest sign weighs more than 2,700 pounds and was sewed together with more than four miles of seams connecting 2,400 sheets and backpacked onto location and is being unfurled by 44 letter carriers with spotters a mile away to ensure proper letter placement," said Curtis. Curtis did not return repeated phone calls today.

Brian Rohrbough, vice president of the group, did not return phone calls early today, but said in a press release that the group aims to show links between DNC policies and school violence. Rohrbough's son, Daniel Rohrbough, was killed in the 1999 Columbine shootings. The group says it plans to participate in the Power in the Park protest at the Martin Luther King Jr. park each morning during the DNC.

Rangers and sheriff's deputies from Jefferson County responded to a report about the sign at 8 a.m. Jeffco Open Space rangers reported that 60 to 65 people were on the mountain constructing the sign. Soon after, the group became dehydrated and tired because they lacked proper supplies.

"They had not brought enough water and food. They came down to get water and food. There was a rumor that they went to lunch but it's not true. They are just taking a break," said Andrea Burns, the community relations manager with the Jefferson County Sheriff's office.

The groupʼs actions did not violate any state laws and no summonses were issued, Jefferson County officials said.

"I believe they have been cordial," said Thea Rock, manager of Citizen Outreach and Public Information for Jefferson County Parks and Open Space.