A man facing accusations of issuing numerous death threats toward key election officials in Colorado and Arizona, as well as judges and federal law enforcement agents, is set to enter a guilty plea in federal court on Wednesday. Teak Ty Brockbank, 45 years old and residing in Cortez, Colorado, has been held in custody following his arrest on August 23. Previously pleading not guilty to a single charge of making interstate threats, he now seeks to change his plea, having informed the court through his attorney. In this scenario, the only feasible change of plea in federal court is to “guilty.”
Documents related to his detention reveal that Brockbank told investigators he does not consider himself a “vigilante” and claims his online statements were intended to “wake people up.” Law enforcement reports indicate that Brockbank began articulating notions of violence against public officials in late 2021 and subsequently directed multiple threats toward notable individuals, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is currently the governor.
In an August 2022 post concerning Griswold and Hobbs, Brockbank is accused of stating: “Once those people start getting put to death then the rest will melt like snowflakes and turn on each other.” While Griswold and Hobbs were not initially named among his targets at the time of his arrest, evidence released in September later identified them as victims of his threats. An investigation commenced in August 2022 following reports from Griswold’s office to federal authorities regarding posts found on platforms such as Gab and Rumble, which have been criticized for their associations with far-right extremism.
Additionally, in October 2021, Brockbank purportedly suggested utilizing his rifle to “put a bullet” in the head of a judge assigned to his probation following his fourth DUI conviction, derogatorily labeling the judge as a “Nazi,” as outlined by prosecutors’ requests to keep him incarcerated during the ongoing legal proceedings. Beyond that, accusations arose claiming that he threatened to shoot any federal agent arriving at his home without warning. Authorities found six firearms at his residence after his arrest, one of which was loaded and located near the entrance, despite Brockbank being prohibited from possessing firearms due to a felony conviction from 2002 related to attempted theft by receiving stolen property in Utah.
Although Brockbank was charged for threats made between September 2021 and August 2022, prosecutors allege that he has continued his threatening behavior beyond that period. Following a divided decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to remove Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot in December 2023, Brockbank reportedly texted his stepfather, indicating that he was including the four judges who voted in favor on “my list.”
Most recently, in July, Brockbank allegedly maintained his threats against Griswold, citing her office’s actions that triggered an investigation into former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters regarding a data breach related to the county’s election equipment in 2021. Griswold has been a vocal advocate for election security and received threats previously due to her claims regarding the integrity of the 2020 election.
In October, Peters received a nearly nine-year prison sentence for permitting access to the county’s election system by an individual associated with Mike Lindell, the CEO of My Pillow and a prominent spreader of unfounded allegations regarding electoral fraud. Furthermore, an inquiry was launched into threats made against the trial judge, Matthew Barrett, who reprimanded Peters during sentencing; however, most messages appear to reflect strongly-worded opinions rather than criminal activity, according to a spokesperson for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.
Brockbank’s case is being managed by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, an initiative that Attorney General Merrick Garland established to safeguard election workers from mounting threats since the 2020 election cycle. Notably, a Nebraska man previously pleaded guilty in 2022 for making death threats against Griswold, marking the first known conviction made by the task force.