DURANGO, Colo — A Colorado man is facing federal charges in connection with a series of threats he made online, targeting election officials in Colorado and Arizona, a Colorado state judge, and federal law enforcement agents.
Teak Brockbank, 45, made his first court appearance in Durango on Monday after he was arrested in Cortez, Colorado, on Friday, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI Denver Field Office is investigating the case.
Federal officials allege that Brockbank made detailed, violent threats, including death threats, against public servants between September 2021 and August 2022. He's charged with transmitting interstate threats and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison if he's convicted.
According to court documents, Brockbank used two social media accounts to post messages threatening Colorado and Arizona election officials – 10 separate threats over several months. The threats included repeated calls for "accountability," the deaths of various officials, and claims that laws and state and federal agencies are "crooked."
FBI investigators said in court documents they connected Brockbank to several different social media accounts, including a Rumble account and a Gab account.
In some of the messages recorded in court documents, Brockbank references his own actions when threatening violence.
Investigators retrieved photos of several firearms from Brockbank's iCloud account that court documents say appear to belong to him. Brockbank is, however, a convicted felon from a prior attempted theft conviction in Utah, according to court documents. That means it is illegal for him to own any firearms at all.
According to court documents, Brockbank still tried to purchase a firearm in Colorado in 2023, despite his felony conviction. His purchase was denied.
In a statement from the DOJ, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland called violent threats against public servants "a danger to our democracy."
“The arrest and charges announced today make clear that the Justice Department will see to it that perpetrators answer for their actions,” Garland said.
“As alleged, Teak Brockbank threatened the lives of multiple public servants on social media," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. "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. 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's case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was launched in June 2021. According to the DOJ, its purpose is to address threats of violence against election workers, and to ensure that all election workers — whether elected, appointed, or volunteer — are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.
Colorado is no stranger to threats of political violence.
In 2022, a Nebraska man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for threatening Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold.
Also in 2022, members of FEC United, a conservative group in Colorado with a militia wing, held a town hall at which they suggested the hanging of Griswold over unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.
In 2023, a jury sentenced a man in Denver to two years of court-supervised probation after making threatening phone calls to Griswold's office.
In 2024, conservative political activist and DCF Guns co-owner Joe Oltmann, who has long used violent political rhetoric, called for the execution of President Joe Biden. He's previously suggested building a line of gallows across the country to hang those he identifies as traitors, including U.S. senators.