Man threatened ‘lawless executions’ of election officials, feds say. ‘We have to kill’
A Colorado man publicly threatened election officials, judges and federal agents in a series of social media posts he shared since 2021, according to federal prosecutors who’ve announced his guilty plea.
Teak Ty Brockbank, 45, of Cortez, repeatedly expressed “his view that violence against public officials was necessary” and pushed for “lawless executions” of election officials to hold them “accountable,” the government wrote in court documents.
In January 2023, Brockbank posted a comment on a video on Rumble, a video-sharing platform, that showed the swearing-in ceremony of an Arizona election official and wrote: “Death For her. …We have to kill all these people and remove them and remind those that wanna be like them there is punishment for their actions,” court documents show.
A few months ago, he threatened a Colorado election official on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump’s social media platform, in July 2024, according to prosecutors.
The next month, Brockbank, who is a convicted felon, was found with multiple firearms when federal agents executed a search warrant at his home on Aug. 23, prosecutors wrote in court documents. He previously said in November 2023 that he does “not go anywhere without a firearm,” court documents say.
Now, Brockbank has pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting interstate threats, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said in an Oct. 23 news release.
Before pleading guilty, Brockbank told a judge that he made threats “out of fear, hate and anger,” The Associated Press reported.
An attorney appointed to represent Brockbank, Thomas Richard Ward, didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 24.
“As we approach Election Day, the Justice Department’s warning remains clear: anyone who illegally threatens an election worker, official, or volunteer will face the consequences,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release.
Additional threats against election officials
Brockbank made multiple threats against a Colorado election official from September 2021 until August 2024, according to a motion to detain Brockbank that was filed Aug. 27.
In September 2021, he responded to a social media post on Gab that accused the official of destroying election data, saying: “I live in Communist Colorado and this Crazed liberal and many others in Communist Colorado needs to- No has to Hang she has to Hang by the neck till she is Dead Dead Dead.”
This threat was directed toward Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, The Associated Press reported.
.In another social media post shared in August 2022, he threatened Griswold and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, when she was Arizona’s secretary of state, according to the outlet. “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…,” the post said in part, according to prosecutors.
In response to the news of Brockbank’s guilty plea, Griswold said in an Oct. 23 statement that “Threats of political violence towards election officials are unacceptable and must stop” and that she refuses “to be intimidated.”
Threats against judges and federal agents
Brockbank also made multiple online threats against Colorado state judges, according to prosecutors.
His first threat was against a judge in Montezuma County who oversaw his probation in connection with his fourth DUI conviction, court documents show.
Brockbank wrote the judge was a “Nazi” in an October 2021 Rumble post, and threatened to “put a bullet” in his head, according to court documents.
After Colorado Supreme Court judges removed Trump’s name from the state ballot, he threatened them in a December 2023 text message that said: “(the judges’) names have been added to my list.....”
The removal of Trump’s name from the Colorado ballot was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4.
Brockbank also threatened federal authorities on social media in posts that “deeply concerned” federal agents, according to court documents.
“ATF CIA FBI show up to my house I am shooting them peace’s of (expletive) first No Warning!! Then I will call the sheriff!!! With everything that these piece of (expletive) agencies have done I am completely justified to just start dropping them as soon as they step on my property!,” Brockbank wrote in one of the threats in July 20, 2022, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department announced Brockbank’s guilty plea as well as developments in three separate cases that involved threats against election officials and others.
“Over the past three and a half years, the Justice Department has been aggressively investigating and prosecuting those who threaten the public servants who administer our elections, and we will continue to do so in the weeks ahead,” Garland said in a statement.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit law institute at New York University, surveyed 928 local election officials between February 2023 and March 2024 and found that 38% of survey participants reported facing threats, harassment or abuse.
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Man threatened ‘lawless executions’ of election officials, feds say. ‘We have to kill’."
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