In the early hours of 2nd January, a man was apprehended for breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court and discharging gunfire inside the premises, according to a state police news release reported by CNN. Initial investigations suggest a low likelihood of a connection to recent threats against Colorado Supreme Court Justices, as stated by the Colorado State Patrol. The intrusion occurred at the Ralph L Carr Colorado Judicial Center, which houses the state supreme court. This event unfolded two weeks after a contentious 4-3 ruling that removed former President Donald Trump from Colorado’s 2024 ballot, citing the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” as the basis for his ineligibility, as reported by CNN.
Law enforcement, including the FBI and Colorado police, had been probing violent threats against the Colorado Supreme Court justices following their decision. However, the recent break-in does not appear to be directly tied to these threats. The incident transpired around 1:15 am local time, lasting nearly two hours, with the intruder surrendering to police at 3 am. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries, but the judicial center suffered “significant and extensive damage.”
The break-in was preceded by a two-vehicle crash near the judicial center, during which one of the involved individuals allegedly brandished a handgun at the other driver. Subsequently, this individual shot out a window on the east side of the judicial center, gaining unauthorized entry. Once inside, the intruder confronted an unarmed security guard, seized the guard’s keys at gunpoint, and proceeded to other sections of the building, discharging shots on the seventh floor.
The suspect, who contacted 911 before surrendering, is now facing unspecified charges. Authorities believe that this incident is not directly connected to prior threats against the justices, although the names of the four judges involved in disqualifying Trump have emerged in “incendiary” posts on extremist online forums. While no specific threats against the judges were identified in an analysis, the report underscored the potential for lone actor or small group violence in response to the court’s ruling, as per CNN.