Anyone who’s been making death threats against election officials in the U.S. should probably start looking over their shoulders in the lead-up to Election Day. The U.S. Department of Justice is cracking down on the most unhinged posters these days, providing them with a quick knock on the door and even new government-funded housing in federal facilities.
A Colorado man made an appearance in court on Monday after being arrested for making death threats online against election officials, judges, and federal agencies like the CIA, ATF, and FBI, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. It is not wise to issue threats against agencies like the FBI, just in case it wasn’t clear.
Teak Brockbank, a 45-year-old man from Cortez, Colorado, made the threats on the right-wing social media platforms Gab and Rumble, two sites known for being safe spaces for Trump supporters, anti-semites, white supremacists, and other dipshit extremists. Brockbank made the threats between September 2021 and August 2022, according to the DOJ but was only arrested on Friday.
As one message allegedly written by Brockbank and directed at election workers in Colorado an Arizona read: “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. So those of us that have the stomach for what has to be done should prepare our minds for what we all [a]re going to do!!!!!! It is time.”
Another message was directed at the CIA, FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which the DOJ quotes as saying, “ATF CIA FBI show up to my house I am shooting them peace’s of s*** first No Warning!! Then I will call the sheriff!!! With everything that these piece of shit agencies have done I am completely justified to just start dropping them as soon as they step on my property! justified.”
Still another message was directed at a judge in Colorado, reading, “I could pick up my rifle and I could go put a bullet in this Mans head and send him to explain himself to our Creator right now. I would be Justified!!! Not only justified but obligated by those in my family who fought and died for the freedom in this country. . . . What can I do other than kill this man my self?”
The threats have been investigated by the FBI Denver Field Office and the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.
“Violent threats against public servants are a danger to our democracy, and the arrest and charges announced today make clear that the Justice Department will see to it that perpetrators answer for their actions,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement published online.
And this guy won’t be the last to be charged for these kinds of threats, as the various arms of the U.S. government clearly want to see the most dangerous far-right assholes taken off the street in the lead-up to the November election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
“As alleged, Teak Brockbank threatened the lives of multiple public servants on social media. Among other threats, he allegedly claimed that it was ‘time’ to put two state election officials to death and that he was obligated to ‘put a bullet’ in the head of a Colorado state judge,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in a statement Monday. “Public servants must be able to do their jobs without fear. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who target public officials with threats of violence.”
Brockbank faces five years in federal prison for the threats.