Man who says far-right content led him to threaten election officials is sentenced to 3 years
Share this @internewscast.com

DENVER (AP) — A man who claimed that exposure to far-right extremist material led him to make online death threats against Democratic election officials in Colorado and Arizona was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge S. Kato Crews emphasized that the punishment for this kind of “keyboard terrorism” must be sufficiently harsh to serve as a deterrent to others, especially given the increasing frequency of threats against public officials. Crews stated that individuals should resolve disagreements through democratic means, not through violence.

“The public must not accept this as the norm,” he said in handing down the sentence for Teak Ty Brockbank.

The individual, Brockbank, 45, admitted guilt in October to issuing threats between September 2021 and August 2022 against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who now serves as governor. Additionally, he menaced a Colorado judge who was handling his DUI case and threatened to kill any federal agents who might come to his residence.

In a statement, Griswold said conspiracy theories spread by the far right have incited threats and violence against election officials.

“I will not be intimidated,” she said.

Brockbank, dressed in a khaki jail uniform, apologized for his “ugly posts” and said he has turned away from the fear, hate and anger he found online. He asked Crews to sentence him to home detention instead of more time behind bars.

Federal prosecutors sought three years in prison for Brockbank, the maximum recommended under sentencing guidelines. He asked for leniency, saying he made the posts when he was drinking heavily, socially isolated and spending his evenings consuming conspiracy theories online. Jonathan Jacobson, a Washington-based attorney for the Justice Department, pointed out that the threats continued during a period when Brockbank wasn’t drinking.

Brockbank’s attorney referred to his client — who has been in jail since he was arrested in August — as a “keyboard warrior,” pointing out there was no evidence that he planned to carry out the threats. Brockbank spent time on social media sites such as Gab and Rumble, the alternative video-sharing platform that has been criticized for allowing and promoting far-right extremism.

The sites delivered “the message that the country was under attack and that patriotic Americans had a duty to rise up and act,” attorney Tom Ward said in a court filing. He told Crews that Brockbank was drawn to QAnon conspiracy theories and that he regularly consumed online content from Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser.

Ward noted that the Trump administration’s Justice Department was seeking a tough sentence for someone who was influenced by some of the same extremist content that motivated people to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6 and were later pardoned by Trump.

But Crews, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, dismissed that argument, saying the Jan. 6 pardons were granted by a different branch of the government based on separate interests.

Before announcing the sentence, Crews read some of Brockbank’s threats, including descriptions of how officials should be killed, starting with one in which Brockbank said Griswold should “hang by the neck.”

Crews said he believed Brockbank’s remorse was genuine and urged him to follow through with his decision to turn away from hate even though he was going to prison.

Brockbank was prosecuted by a task force started under the Biden administration in 2021 to combat the rise of threats targeting election officials.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the task force was still operating.

The unit has been led by the Justice Department’s public integrity section in Washington, which has dwindled from more than two dozen lawyers to just a handful as the Trump administration has shifted resources to priorities like immigration and other matters.

___

Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
John Kerry’s ritzy blue city neighborhood rocked as drug addicts ‘overrun’ cobblestone streets

John Kerry’s Upscale City Neighborhood Faces Challenges as Drug Addicts Overtake Streets

Residents of a wealthy Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood are voicing concerns that city…
Michigan museum preserves Civil Rights artifacts amid federal efforts to downplay Black history

Michigan Museum Safeguards Civil Rights Artifacts as Federal Actions Undermine Black History

Brick by brick, beam by beam, and shingle by shingle, a significant…
Bill and Hillary Clinton Just Got Slapped With Subpoenas for Testimony Regarding Jeffrey Epstein

Bill and Hillary Clinton Subpoenaed to Testify in Jeffrey Epstein Case

The House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas targeting former Secretary of State…
Things to know about the Voting Rights Act and the cases that could unravel it

Key Insights into the Voting Rights Act and the Legal Challenges It’s Facing

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted as a follow-up to…
911 call released of Florida teen who said he killed his parents

Florida Teen’s 911 Call Released After Allegedly Killing Parents

14-year-old Trevor Lee was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree…
The Titan submersible underwater.

Detailed Account of Failures in Titan Submarine Disaster Revealed in New Report, Pointing to CEO Stockton Rush’s Negligence

A DAMNING report into the doomed Titan sub has laid a bare…

Fugitive Father Travis Decker’s Alleged Killing of Three Daughters May Influence Legal Changes Due to Public Outcry Over Lack of Warnings

THE murder of three Washington sisters has spurred a push for new…
Former Duval teacher's union executive pleads guilty in $1.2 million fraud case

Ex-Duval Teachers’ Union Leader Admits Guilt in $1.2 Million Fraud Case

The plea leaves former DTU President Terrie Brady, a longtime figure in…

34-Year-Old Fitness Model Tragically Discovered Stabbed to Death in Bathroom After Eerie Last Call with Father

A FITNESS model who was stabbed to death in his apartment made…
Quinten Kight, charged with DWI in girl's death at Harris Lake in North Carolina, previously accused of DUI, hit-and-run

Quinten Kight Charged with DWI in Tragic Harris Lake Incident; Previously Faced DUI and Hit-and-Run Allegations

MONCURE, N.C. — Court documents reveal that the man charged in the…
Surveillance video still image of a person in camouflage at night.

Chilling Hand Gesture by Quadruple Murder Suspect Austin Drummond Captured on Video Shortly Before Arrest

TERRIFYING footage of the Tennessee quadruple murder suspect has been released as…
Crosetti Brand sentenced to life in prison for killing Jayden Perkins, injuring Laterria Smith in Edgewater, Chicago stabbing

Crosetti Brand Receives Life Sentence for Fatal Stabbing of Jayden Perkins and Injuring Laterria Smith in Edgewater, Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) — On Tuesday, Crosetti Brand was sentenced to life imprisonment…