A man was arrested early Tuesday morning after police say he broke into the Colorado Supreme Court building just after midnight, fired several shots and set a fire in a stairwell.
The crimes were not believed to be related to the court’s recent majority decision to exclude former President Donald Trump from the state’s upcoming primary ballot.
In any event, the fire caused damage that was extensive.
Denver’s KMGH-TV reported that at approximately 1:11 a.m. on Tuesday morning, a 9-1-1 call was placed about a car crash in the city’s downtown district just one block south of the state Capitol and just a few feet from the state’s Supreme Court building.
Per the report, one vehicle collided with another.
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A man from the second vehicle reportedly exited the car, retrieved a handgun from the backseat and ran.
RELEASE: Suspect Arrested in E 14th Ave. Incident #Denver pic.twitter.com/J2nZHVMPeI
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) January 2, 2024
“Soon after, that same individual shot out a window on the east side of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center,” police said.
Was this crime related to the court’s decision to ban Trump from the ballot?
Yes: 29% (6 Votes)
No: 71% (15 Votes)
After he allegedly fired a shot into the building, police said he broke in and held an unarmed security guard at gunpoint.
A suspect was arrested after breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court building in Denver and opening fire at responding police officers, local media reported https://t.co/amWVwqYh3h pic.twitter.com/Oe8SFbxPWu
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 2, 2024
KMGH identified the suspect as Brandon Olsen, 44.
Brandon Olsen faces robbery, burglary and arson charges after break-in at Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver https://t.co/O0UoBuVp4T pic.twitter.com/ueiRRsFR0E
— CBSColorado (@CBSNewsColorado) January 2, 2024
Per police, after Olsen entered the building on the first floor, he allegedly eventually made his way up to the building’s seventh floor after forcefully taking the guard’s building keys.
Olsen allegedly fired multiple shots while inside the building before police said he started a fire in one of the building’s stairwells.
Police were able to communicate with the suspect, and he surrendered at around 3 a.m. without further incident.
No one was injured, but the damage to the building from the fire was said to have been “significant and extensive.”
Olsen is currently in jail and is expected to be charged with robbery, burglary and arson.
Matt Sebastian with The Denver Post obtained a copy of a number of statements Olsen made to police after his arrest, but all of them were redacted:
Denver police ID suspect in armed break-in/arson at Colorado Supreme Court as Brandon Olsen. Officials say it’s not linked to threats against justices since Trump ruling. But whatever Olsen told police is blacked out https://t.co/xIhVaZuIWd by @ShellyBradbury and @jacobfactorCO pic.twitter.com/k77FnDnITb
— Matt Sebastian (@mattsebastian) January 2, 2024
The Denver Police Department and state police acknowledged the state’s Supreme Court ruling regarding Trump and the ballot in a joint statement but said they do not believe Tuesday’s incident was related.
“DPD and the Colorado State Patrol are treating this incident seriously, but at this time, do not believe this to be associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court Justices,” the agencies said in a statement.
