Courtney “CW” and Nicole Mallery say they have spent years fighting to keep their Black-owned ranch in Yoder, Colorado, while dealing with harassment, racism, and threats that they believe have put their family in danger. However, after shots were fired on their property over Easter weekend, those fears escalated into new territory.

“Shots were fired at our ranch. We are alive, but something inside us has been shaken in a way that cannot be put back easily,” a caption stated on the couple's shared Instagram account.

The couple, who run Freedom Acres Ranch, shared with Capital B that the recent shooting is a part of a larger pattern that includes doxxing, surveillance, vandalism, and repeated encounters with neighbors they say have tried to drive them off the land.

“We are no longer speaking about harassment. We are no longer speaking about intimidation. We are speaking about survival,” they wrote to Capital B. “All we want to do is farm and feed our community. How much terror must a family endure before it is taken seriously?”

They also say the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office failed to protect them despite years of complaints.

The Mallerys moved to Colorado after Hurricane Harvey displaced them from Texas. The family sought a fresh start and a place to farm, raise animals, and help feed the community. 

Instead, they say they found themselves under constant threats: finding their cattle dead under mysterious circumstances on the property; incidents that included firearms being pointed at them and an onslaught of other terrifying or questionable circumstances. They were also charged with felony stalking, petty theft, and tampering with a meter; prosecutors later dropped the charges.

The couple is now asking state and federal leaders to step in, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, and Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg. Their supporters say the case reflects a wider problem for Black farmers, who still face discrimination and land loss in rural America.

The sheriff’s office has denied the allegations, and no one has been charged in connection with the Easter shooting, according to multiple reports.