Gunman fires shots at Colorado Supreme Court building

By 
 January 3, 2024

An armed man shot up the Colorado Supreme Court early Tuesday morning, causing "significant and extensive" damage to the building.

Despite the timing of the incident, it has no apparent connection to the court's controversial ruling that Donald Trump is not eligible to be president.

Nobody was injured in Tuesday's shooting, which transpired after a two-car crash involving the suspect, 44-year-old Brandon Olsen, and another person.

Olsen was taken into custody without incident and charged with arson, robbery and burglary.

Shots fired at Supreme Court

Police say Olsen was involved in a car crash after 1 a.m. Tuesday outside the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center, which contains the Supreme Court, the Colorado Court of Appeals, and other government offices.

Olsen later gained access to the building by shooting out a window on the first floor.

The suspect held up an unarmed security guard and stole the keys from him, before roaming several stories and starting a fire on the seventh floor, where he also fired off several gunshots. The sprinklers went off, extinguishing the fire.

One other person was in the building during the break-in, but she fled when the fire alarm went off, and did not see Olsen.

Eventually, the suspect called police around 3 a.m. and voluntarily surrendered. The cops found his gun on a table.

Not political?

Olsen's ex-wife told the Denver Post that he has a history of drug use and mental health problems. She said the incident was not political.

“We’re just really sad this has happened to Brandon and that he hasn’t gotten the mental health help that he clearly needs,” she said. “We’re hoping for the best for him… He’s a really loving, good guy, just had a mental breakdown. Drugs will do that to you.”

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December that Trump is disqualified from being president under the Fourteenth Amendment's language barring "insurrectionists" from federal office.

The ruling has been praised by partisan Democrats as a win for "democracy," but slammed by others as dangerous and divisive.

The FBI and police in Colorado have been monitoring an alleged rise in violent rhetoric toward the court's judges, but there have been no credible threats to date.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson
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