A Colorado man has been indicted on charges of making threats against local election officials, federal law enforcement, a Colorado judge and the Department of Justice. Announced Monday.
According to federal prosecutors, Teek Brockbank, 45, was arrested last Friday in Cortez, Colorado, on suspicion of making a series of online threats against officials in Colorado and Arizona since 2021.
The messages were posted by two social media accounts. In one 2022 post, Brockbank allegedly wrote, “There is no answer other than executing these people,” referring to separate election officials in Arizona and Colorado. According to the criminal complaint. He also accused the defendants of committing “treason,” according to prosecutors.
The names of the election officials were redacted in the lawsuit.
In an October 2021 message, Brockbank threatened an unnamed Colorado judge, writing, “I could pick up a rifle and put a bullet in this man’s head and hold him to account to my Creator right now. I would be vindicated!!! Not only would I be vindicated but also obligated by my family who fought and lost their lives for the freedom of this country… What else could I do but kill this man myself,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Brockbank then made threats against federal law enforcement agencies in posts that referenced the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In a July 2022 post, he allegedly wrote that he would be “totally justified” in shooting members of these agencies if they showed up at his home.
Brockbank was charged with transmitting interstate threats, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
He is scheduled to make his initial appearance on Monday in federal court in Durango, Colorado. Court records did not immediately list an attorney for Brockbank.
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned violent threats against public officials, calling them a “danger to our democracy.”
“The arrests and indictments announced today clearly demonstrate that the Department of Justice intends to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions,” Garland wrote.
“Public servants must be able to do their jobs without fear,” added Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri.
Brockbank allegedly resumed his threats in late 2023 in response to the Colorado Supreme Court’s landmark decision in December to disqualify former President Trump from voting in the state’s 2024 Republican primary election based on the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrection.
In a text message to his father-in-law, Brockbank allegedly said, “Four Colorado judges have removed President Trump from the Colorado ballot. Their names have been added to my list…”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in March on President Trump’s appeal, ruling that Colorado cannot disqualify a former president under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Several reports over the past year have suggested that local election workers are growing increasingly concerned about their safety as the November election approaches.
The Justice Department’s Election Intimidation Task Force announced in March that it was investigating dozens of threats against election workers. The task force, formed in 2021 to respond to threats related to denialism of the 2020 election, has already led to 20 indictments.
