Police arrested a man early Tuesday morning for allegedly breaching the entrance of the Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, and taking a security guard hostage at gunpoint.
Around 1:15 a.m., a driver named Brandon Olsen was involved in a car crash outside the Colorado Supreme Court made his way into the building after robbing a security guard of his keys, the Denver Police Department told The Daily Caller in a press statement via email. While inside, the suspect Olsen roamed through several floors and fired off bullets that damaged windows.
A suspect was arrested early on Jan. 2 after breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court building in Denver and opening fire at responding police officers, local media reported, citing authorities https://t.co/GRpL4UipnL pic.twitter.com/P7NlJHiRtR
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) January 2, 2024
By 3 a.m., the suspect called 911 and “voluntarily” surrendered to authorities after reportedly causing “significant and extensive damage” to the judicial center, police told the Caller.
There were also reports of a fire in a stairwell that triggered the building’s sprinkler safety system, but police could not confirm what caused the flames, according to Denver 7.
Olsen is being charged with three charges, namely Robbery, Burglary and Arson, according to police.
“CSP and DPD are treating this incident seriously, but at this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court justices,” the Denver Police stated. (RELATED: Meet The Four Judges Who Kicked Donald Trump Off The Colorado Ballot)
The department noted that that it and the CSP maintains this is an isolated incident from the court’s decision to kick former President Donald Trump off the state ballot, however local police will continue to investigate a possible motive.