February 09, 2026 12:56 PM UTC

Scott Bottoms Claims to Have Uncovered Three Pedophile Rings at State Capitol

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• by: Colorado Pols

Scott Bottoms will say anything.

The Republican State Representative from Colorado Springs has never been shy about sharing his comments and opinions on any number of topics, but as he flails hopelessly in a no-shot bid to become the GOP nominee for Governor in 2026, Bottoms has taken his absurd rhetoric to new heights.

At a Republican forum in Colorado Springs on Saturday called “Pints, Popcorn, and Politics,” Bottoms claimed that he has been “working with the FBI” for the last three years to uncover three separate “pedophile rings” at the State Capitol — one each in the House, Senate, and the office of the Governor.

BOTTOMS: We see all of the drug-running, the children-running, all of that stuff is mostly through the rural communities. And so this is not something we can just say, ‘Well, we hope it stays in Denver.’ That’s not the way it’s working, okay?

We are number one in the nation – Colorado is number one in ‘most friendly to pedophiles’ in the entire nation. That’s because of our laws, which are passed by our House and our Senate. And those are very intentional laws, because pedophilia runs through our House, our Senate, and our Governor’s office. [Pols emphasis]

I’ve been working with the FBI for three years now – the FBI outside the state of Colorado because I do not trust CBI [Colorado Bureau of Investigation], state police, or the FBI in the state of Colorado, and I have very legitimate reasons why I know that and I believe that. So I’ve been working with the FBI in two other states, because we are going to drop the boom the moment that I am governor – we’ve actually been talking about maybe doing it before – but the moment I’m governor we’re going to shut down the pedophile rings that are in the House, in the Senate, and in the Governor’s office. We know where these are. We know who the people are, okay? And it’s going to happen. [Pols emphasis]

These are some pretty serious claims from a sitting legislator. They weren’t just one-off statements, either. Bottoms doubled-down on his ridiculous assertions in an interview with right-wing radio show host Ryan Schuiling on Monday morning:

BOTTOMS: So I’ve been saying this stuff for two years, way before I started to run for governor. I’ve been saying this at all kinds of events [and] town halls. I came across some…I won’t explode the whole thing right now because I don’t want to mess stuff up. But I came across some information a few years ago that showed me that they we have a pedophilic problem in elected office, and so I began to really look at that, talk to a lot of people, do every kind of investigation I could – which is limited. I’m a pastor, I’m not a private investigator, but realize that this stuff is very true, it’s very valid…

…We’ve been having this [problem] in the state of Colorado for a while, and it does go to some of the top people in our state. And it includes buying children, it includes running children, it includes their hotels….These kids are being run through and housed and and then sold, and they’re sold to people.

Bottoms claims that he has been talking about these mythical pedophilia rings in Colorado for years but is only now getting attention for his comments because he has become the “frontrunner” for Governor. In reality, Bottoms has a better chance of being named King of England than he does at becoming the top elected official in Colorado, so this is almost certainly just a desperate bid for attention for his campaign. As of January 15, 2026, Bottoms’s gubernatorial campaign had $9,266 in the bank — less than every semi-recognizable Republican candidate in the field (the leading fundraiser overall is Attorney General Phil Weiser, who reported $3.5 million in the bank as of Jan. 15).

Anyway, what proof does Scott Bottoms have to support his claims?

None.

BOTTOMS: I have not had enough evidence to do any kind of, you know, criminal stuff. [Pols emphasis] Plus I’m a Representative and a pastor. I’m not an AD [?] or the Attorney General, who should have been doing this long time ago but hasn’t for a lot of other reasons that will come out. 

To his credit, Schuiling followed up by referencing a prior conversation with former State GOP Chair Dick Wadhams, who said in an earlier conversation on the show that Bottoms should back up these claims with, you know, facts.

SCHUILING: Why even wade into these waters a little bit unless you are able and willing to provide the evidence that links specific names to what you’re accusing? In other words, would you talk more about those details before you were elected governor, before you were to become the nominee? When would those details come out? And why are they not coming out now?

BOTTOMS: So this is a long journey, and I understand that conversation because I’ve had that conversation with federal officials. Okay, at first it was ‘I have some evidence, and here’s what it is.’ And it was tenuous, very, very weak light evidence, right? And so I began the process of trying to figure it out.

Bottoms says he is really concerned about the harm being done to kids in Colorado, but he’s also very busy and so he might not be able to find the time to do anything more unless voters elect him Governor.

BOTTOMS: But I have just recently said to these federal investigators, I’m done. I cannot keep doing this. I’m trying to run for governor…

…Now they’re going to start moving into the process and I’m going to be out of the investigative process. I’m just going to be the verbalization. And I will continue to do that until all of these people are in jail for the rest of their life, and then when I become governor because I know this information, I’m going to work very strongly with the FBI and we’re going to put people in jail. We’re not just going to talk about it. We’re going to put people in jail.

Right.

A few weeks ago, during one of his “sermons” at the Church at Briarwood in Colorado Springs, Bottoms also claimed that Republicans in the state legislature had uncovered a massive corruption scandal:

BOTTOMS: We are uncovering stuff now that is just so much money. Billions of dollars of corruption in Colorado that’s going to eclipse the Somalian corruption in Minnesota. There’s billions of dollars flowing to people that’s totally corrupt. Elected officials. Not just people, elected officials.

Maybe Bottoms will be able to find time to show off proof of this claim as well.

Scott Bottoms is obviously nuttier than a bag of squirrels, but this is all pretty gross. Bottoms has no problem making wild accusations — for which he has absolutely no proof whatsoever — in a paradoxically-weird effort to get people to take him seriously as a candidate for statewide office. We’re probably only a few weeks away from Bottoms claiming that Gov. Jared Polis is a lizard person and the gold atop the State Capitol is actually cheddar cheese.

The good news here is that Bottoms won’t be back in the state legislature in 2027 unless he changes course and decides to seek re-election instead of the GOP nomination for Governor. Nobody should be listening to anything that Scott Bottoms has to say about anything…other than for entertainment purposes.