Wyoming-based U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner says a former sheriff’s deputy threatened him. The former deputy denies it adamantly.
They both provided screenshots potentially supporting their claims. The Torrington Police Department says it's investigating.
Rasner dispatched a statement and later conducted a phone interview Wednesday, alleging that a former Goshen County sheriff’s deputy Aaron Mose – who parted ways with the department in 2024 – called him at 8:21 a.m. Sunday.
The statement Rasner’s attorney Bill Fix reportedly sent to law enforcement Wednesday morning alleges that Mose said, “Listen, we ran your ass outta Goshen County last week, and if you ever come back through here again, you better watch your back.”
Mose in a Wednesday phone interview adamantly denied making any such statement. He sent Cowboy State Daily what appears to be a screenshot of his phone carrier’s call log, showing no calls made between 10:35 p.m. Saturday and 1:35 p.m. Sunday.
Rasner’s team sent its own screenshot of what appears to be his phone’s call log, with unrelated phone calls blurred, showing an incoming call from Mose’s number at 8:21 a.m. on an unspecified day.
Cowboy State Daily ran both images through a free AI content detector, isgen.ai.
The site registered Mose’s screenshot as 100% human content. It registered the call log shot from Rasner’s team as 89% human and “likely original” – a score that could be less than perfect due to the privacy blurs on the other phone numbers.
The stakes might be high.
A person who makes a false report to law enforcement can be charged with false reporting, and a person who lies to law enforcement in an investigation can be charged with interference, both misdemeanors punishable by jail time.
But, Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson emphasized in a Wednesday interview, people shouldn’t be charged with either of those crimes unless they “knowingly” provided a false report or lied about evidence.
“There’s a fair number of boxes that would need to be checked for those things to move forward,” said Johnson. “It’s a mistake to automatically assume that because something turns out to later be inaccurate, a person will be charged. There’s an intent element.”
Another curveball is the rise of phone “spoofing,” in which bad actors hijack others’ numbers to masquerade as them. The scam is so prevalent the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has established a reporting site for it.
“From a technology standpoint that is possible,” said Johnson.
He declined to give insight into the investigation, which he said is in its early stages.
Rasner Says
Rasner told Cowboy State Daily he doesn’t know Mose personally, but the man has commented on his Facebook posts at least 31 times, and tends to be “hostile and aggressive.”
The Rasner team sent screenshots showing the beginnings of Mose's comments.
Rasner attended a Republican Party event in Goshen County in recent days, and the candidate said he thought it went well.
This isn’t the first time Rasner has raised concerns about alleged threats on the campaign trail. His political Facebook page posted an audio clip July 6 of a man saying he’d “be watching out for (Rasner) down in the Snowies,” and “You might wanna check your brakes.”
Rasner said he or his team report all threats to county sheriffs. Fix confirmed Wednesday he originally sent the report about Mose to Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor. But it was referred to the police department, Johnson confirmed.
Rasner originally thought Mose was still a deputy and found the alleged threat “disturbing” in that light, he said.
“We’re not going to be deterred though,” said Rasner. “We’re going to keep fighting.”
Rasner said he keeps a security team. To the question of whether he’s packing a firearm, Rasner said, “Always.”
Mose Says
Mose said he serves the campaign of one of Rasner’s eight GOP opponents, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, as a volunteer, as well as the campaign of gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien.
He voiced surprise at hearing Rasner’s claims Wednesday via his Cowboy State Daily interview.
Mose said he went to the police station to address the situation. He also sent the outlet what appears to be his phone carrier’s call log.
He said he doesn’t have Rasner’s phone number, but he did make a recent social media comment to the effect of “I’m glad Goshen County chased you out.”
He also said he saw Rasner at the Republican event, and Rasner tried getting his attention.
“I just politely walked off,” said Mose.
Mose referenced the numerous negative comments Rasner has made about Gray this campaign, as well as an inflammatory claim Rasner made about Gray’s campaign manager.
Rasner has attacked Gray with nicknames such as “China Chuck Gray” and lobbed negative ads and social media posts at him for months.
“I’ve been defending (team Gray) saying, ‘This is crap. This is not true,’” said Mose. “Making these comments is absurd.”
Mose said Rasner’s campaign attacks indicate he’s “down in the polls.”
“It seems kind of odd, how he’s first been attacking (Gray’s campaign manager) and now he’s coming after me,” said Mose.
Rasner and Gray face seven more opponents in the race to the GOP nomination for U.S. House.
Those are philanthropist Steve Friess, state Senate President Bo Biteman, former superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, former legislator Keith Goodenough, singer/actor Richard Dodson, military veterans Kevin Christensen and David Giralt.
The primary election is set for Aug. 18.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
