A man was arrested early Tuesday morning after allegedly breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court, discharging a weapon and setting a small fire just weeks after the state’s top court moved to remove former President Donald Trump from the Colorado presidential ballot.
The suspect also held an unarmed security guard at gunpoint to gain access to the building in addition to shooting out windows and firing a gun while inside, according to the Colorado Sun. The man called 911 and voluntarily surrendered to police several hours later. The incident appeared to begin in the early morning hours after a two car collision near the Colorado Supreme Court building. The suspect was involved in the crash and had pointed a gun at the other driver before shooting at the building housing the Colorado Supreme Court. After obtaining keys from a security guard held at gunpoint, the suspect entered the building, fired shots and moved between several floors before the suspect started a fire that caused the Denver Fire Department to respond. After surrendering, the man was taken to the local hospital for evaluation. Colorado State Troopers also responded to the scene and reported “significant and extensive damage to the building” as a result of the fracas.
Despite the timing, Colorado State Patrol said in a news release to the press that there was a “high probability” that the incident was not related to threats made on Colorado Supreme Court justices regarding the presidential ballot decision.
The Colorado Supreme Court held in December that former president Trump was disqualified from holding the office of the presidency and could not remain on the 2024 Colorado presidential primary ballot based on the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment “insurrection clause.” The clause bars candidates from office who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” Subsequently, threats of violence against the court’s justices were investigated by the FBI amid a bump in violent speech related to the decision. The Colorado Republican State Central Committee filed an appeal to the US Supreme Court to overturn the decision.
