Man accused of making online threats against Colorado election officials

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man was arrested Friday and is now charged with transmitting interstate threats after officials say he made repeated posts threatening Colorado and Arizona election officials.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Teak Brockbank, 45, of Cortez, was arrested after posting a series of messages threatening officials in both states between September 2021 and August 2022.

“We allege that the defendant made detailed death threats against election officials, judges, and law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a release . “Violent threats against public servants are a danger to our democracy, and the arrest and charges announced today make clear that the Justice Department will see to it that perpetrators answer for their actions.”

Investigators are alleging that Brockbank used two social media accounts to post messages for about a year. The Justice Department shared several examples of Brockbank’s purported posts, including one from Aug. 4, 2022, wherein Brockbank allegedly posted a message that referenced Colorado and Arizona election officials in a threatening manner.

“Once those people start getting put to death then the rest will melt like snowflakes and turn on each other. . . . This is the only way. So those of us that have the stomach for what has to be done should prepare our minds for what we all [a]re going to do!!!!!! It is time,” Brockbank posted, according to the Justice Department.

He also posted a message threatening one of Colorado’s state judges on Oct. 2, 2021, stating that he could shoot and kill the judge himself, adding: “I would be Justified!!! Not only justified but obligated by those in my family who fought and died for the freedom in this country. . . . What can I do other than kill this man my self?”

The Justice Department said that Brockbank also threatened federal law enforcement officers on July 20, 2022, saying that if members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the Central Intelligence Agency showed up at his home, he’d shoot without warning. Brockbank allegedly said in his posts to social media that he would be “completely justified” to kill the officers “as soon as they step on my property!”

If Brockbank is convicted of transmitting interstate threats, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

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