Five sheriff’s deputies in Colorado have been reprimanded over the use of an encrypted group chat with state, local and federal employees that violated state law. One of those deputies is also being sued by the state attorney general.
The consequences follow the conclusion of an internal investigation into the involvement of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in the high-profile detainment of Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a 19-year-old college student, in June. It found that the members of the group chat, which was on an encrypted messaging app called Signal, utilized it to collaborate on immigration-related arrests.
Immigration officers arrested and detained Dias-Goncalves after a sheriff’s deputy pulled her over during a brief traffic stop in June. The deputy provided the members of the chat with a picture of her driver’s license, a description of her vehicle and information about which direction she was heading prior to immigration officers pulling her over and detaining her moments after.
Several MCSO deputies were in the group chat with federal employees — including those who worked for Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The chat also included Colorado State Patrol and a few other local law enforcement agencies.
The news comes as the Trump administration continues to implement its mass deportation and anti-immigration agenda, which has largely been met with resistance from community members, organizers, lawmakers and attorneys across the country.
What happened to Caroline Dias-Goncalves?
Caroline Dias-Goncalves is a 19-year-old student at the University of Utah. She was born in Brazil and brought to the U.S. by her family when she was a child on a visa that has since expired.
On June 5, MCSO Investigator Alexander Zwinck pulled her over while she was driving toward Denver on Interstate 70 outside of a Colorado town called Loma.
During a traffic stop that lasted under 20 minutes, Zwinck claimed she was driving too close to a tractor-trailer.
Body camera footage of the interaction shows that Zwinck asked Dias-Goncalves where she was from because she had a “little bit of an accent.” She told him she was from Utah, to which he responded by asking if she was “born and raised” there.
She then told him she was born in Brazil.
“Oh, that’s cool,” Zwinck said, before letting her go.
When she exited the freeway, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents then pulled her over, arrested her and placed her in ICE detention.
“She has no criminal record and she was not shown a warrant,” her attorney, Jon Hyman, told NBC News at the time in an email.
As it turns out, when Zwinck pulled over Dias-Goncalves, he sent a picture of her driver’s license to the Signal chat seeking information about her, the investigation revealed. His message prompted the federal agents to head to his location. However, he had already let Dias-Goncalves go. Zwinck provided the chat with a description of her vehicle and the direction she was heading, which helped the agents locate and arrest her.
The Investigation’s Findings
Zwinck’s actions appear to defy Colorado state law, specifically Senate Bill 25-276 and 21-131.
Colorado Senate Bill 25-276, passed less than two weeks before Dias Goncalves’ detainment, prohibits coordination between state law enforcement, such as MCSO, and federal law enforcement, including HSI and ICE. Further, SB 21-131 restricts state agencies from sharing personal identifying information with immigration officers unless there is a court order or a requirement of federal or state law.
“The chat group was reportedly originally set up to facilitate communication and cooperation” among drug interdiction officers in the area, wrote Art Smith, operations division chief, in a memo to Undersheriff Matt King. However, the uses of the chat seem to have expanded beyond that, as evidenced by the almost immediate arrest of Dias-Goncalves after her traffic stop.
There were 18 members in the signal group chat, according to a summary of the investigation. While some of the names were redacted, the group chat listed the following members: three MCSO deputies — including Zwinck, Erik Olson and Joshua Ray — five Colorado State Patrol officers, six or seven people with Homeland Security Investigations, one person from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, one from the Vail Police Department and a person with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
It’s unclear to HuffPost how often this chat was used, as well as how many others may have been detained similarly to Dias-Goncalves.
”Based on our findings, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office should not have had any role in the chain of events leading to Miss Dias-Goncalves’s detention, and I regret that this occurred. I apologize to Miss Dias-Goncalves,” Sheriff Todd Rowell said in a lengthy statement on Wednesday.
He also called on HSI to release all of the messages in the Signal chat.
Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew C. Packard also released a statement on Wednesday, claiming that the patrol has stopped using the chat “due to an apparent lack of shared purpose.”
“This incident involving Caroline Dias-Goncalves, Mesa County Sheriff Deputy Alexander Zwinck, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prompted the Patrol to reevaluate its use of the Signal group chat due to an apparent lack of shared purpose among all agencies on the platform,” Packard said. “For the Patrol, our use was for operations targeting the combat of drug trafficking and organized crime; other organizations may have different priorities and goals. As of June 18, 2025, the Patrol no longer shares information on this chat.”
The Colorado State Patrol did not provide further comment.
As a result of the investigation, Zwinck has been placed on three weeks of unpaid leave, according to Rowell.
Four others have also been disciplined as a result of the investigation: Deputy Erik Olson was placed on two weeks of unpaid leave. He is also being dismissed from the Western Colorado Drug Task Force (WCDTF) and reassigned to patrol.
Sgt. Joe LeMoine, the direct supervisor of Zwinck and Olson, will be suspended without pay for two days on dates of his choosing. LeMoine’s punishment comes as a result of not being “reasonably aware” of his subordinates’ actions and for not adequately complying with his supervisor’s instructions.
Lt. David Holdren, LeMoine’s supervisor, was given a “letter of reprimand,” which is set to remain in his personnel file permanently. The letter faults Holdren for Zwinck and Olson’s violations because he was directed to ensure that individuals under him do not coordinate with federal law enforcement on immigration matters, per the letter.
Finally, Captain Curtis Brammer, Holdren’s supervisor, received verbal counseling, which was documented, over the issues.
Ray was not reprimanded, as the investigation found that he did not participate in the chat except for a previous, unrelated operation months prior. He then muted the chat and claimed to be unaware of its purpose.
MCSO declined HuffPost’s request for further comment. HuffPost also reached out to ICE, the DEA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, and the Vail Police Department, but did not immediately hear back.
On top of his unpaid leave, Zwinck is now being sued by the Colorado AG.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit against Zwinck on July 22 for his role in Dias-Goncalves’ ICE detainment. He also accused Zwinck of taking similar actions in the group chat before her arrest.
“Colorado law clearly directs that our limited state resources go to enforcing Colorado criminal laws and not be diverted to immigration enforcement,” Weiser said at a Denver news conference about the matter. “The legislature specified that such actions can undermine public trust and also deter people from accessing the services offered by state agencies and political subdivisions.”
“The deputy knowingly acted to assist federal immigration officers in immigration enforcement after the deputy knew that the driver wasn’t involved in any criminal activity and had no outstanding warrants,” Weiser said. “After they took her into custody, the deputy commended the immigration officers, saying, ‘Nice work.’”
Sheriff Rowell argued that the case against Zwinck should be dropped since he is already being punished. Otherwise, each of the individuals involved in the chat should be sued, he reasoned.
“I ask that Attorney General Weiser apply the law equally to all law enforcement and government officials instead of making Deputy Zwinck an example. This would include filing lawsuits and hosting press conferences for each state and local law enforcement officer in the group chat and other government officials who have violated SB 21-131 and SB 25-276,” Rowell said in his Wednesday statement.
“As it stands, the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office sends a demoralizing message to law enforcement officers across Colorado — that the law may be wielded selectively and publicly for maximum political effect rather than applied fairly and consistently,” Rowell continued.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office doubled down on the lawsuit in a response to Rowell’s statement.
“The attorney general was presented with facts that showed blatant violations of state law. As the attorney general said last week, other law enforcement agencies are under investigation for a pattern or practice of civil rights violations,” the spokesperson told HuffPost. “The Mesa County sheriff has a job to do to investigate and discipline his employees. The attorney general has a duty to enforce state laws and protect Coloradans and will continue to do so.”
Dias-Goncalves’ detainment draws attention to vulnerable ‘Dreamers’ and immigrants across the country
Dias-Goncalves spent 15 days at the immigration center known as the Denver Contract Detention Facility before being released on bond. More than 1,000 others are detained at the facility, which has been accused of inmate mistreatment and wrongful death in multiple lawsuits.
“The past 15 days have been the hardest of my life,” Dias-Goncalves said in her first statement after being released.
She said she aims to “focus on work, on school and on healing.”
“But I won’t forget this,” she continued. “Immigrants like me — we’re not asking for anything special. Just a fair chance to adjust our status, to feel safe, and to keep building the lives we’ve worked so hard for in the country we call home.”
A relative of Dias-Goncalves told the Salt Lake City Tribune that her family fled Brazil because they had experienced violence, including being robbed and held hostage by gang members.
Dias-Goncalves can be described as one of nearly 2.5 million “Dreamers” in the U.S. The term refers to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which Congress never passed. It was intended to shield individuals who came into the U.S. as children from deportation.
Gaby Pacheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, acknowledged the sheriff’s apology as a positive step forward, but said Dias-Goncalves’ detention calls attention to deportations across the country.
(Dias-Goncalves is also a scholar with TheDream.US. The program provides immigrants with funding to attend school.)
“We are heartened by the official recognition that Caroline’s detention was unlawful and we are grateful that she is now home, recovering and preparing to resume her college studies this Fall. The Sheriff’s apology matters, it’s an important step,” Pacheco told HuffPost in a statement. “But let’s not lose sight of the larger issue: Caroline still faces the very real threat of deportation. And she’s not alone. Across the country, Dreamers are being targeted, detained, and now encouraged to self-deport from the only country most of them have ever known. This is unacceptable.”
Pacheco urged Congress to pass the DREAM Act or similar legislation to protect vulnerable Dreamers like Dias-Goncalves.
“Dreamers like Caroline belong here. They are students, workers, caregivers, and future leaders. Detaining and threatening them doesn’t reflect American values, it betrays them,” Pacheco added.
Dias-Goncalves’ attorney did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.