Man who threatened to kill election officials sentenced to three years in prison – Washington Examiner
Teak Ty Brockbank has been sentenced to three years in prison for threatening to kill election officials in Arizona and Colorado. He had pleaded guilty to making these threats between 2021 and 2022 against prominent figures, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is now the governor. In court, while prosecutors recommended a three-year sentence to deter similar threats against election workers, Brockbank sought leniency by claiming he acted under the influence of alcohol and was isolated, consuming online conspiracy theories. U.S. District Court Judge Kato Crews emphasized the need for a serious penalty due to the increasing threats against public officials. Brockbank was reportedly influenced by extremist content on social media platforms and conspiracy theories like QAnon. Griswold remarked on the issue of rising threats against election officials, asserting her commitment to not being intimidated.
Man who threatened to kill election officials sentenced to three years in prison
Teak Ty Brockbank was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for threatening to kill Democratic election officials in Arizona and Colorado.
Brockbank pleaded guilty last year to making threats between 2021 and 2022 against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, now the state’s governor.
While federal prosecutors sought three years in prison, Brockbank asked for leniency, claiming he made the posts under the influence of alcohol, and that he was socially isolated and consuming online conspiracy theories.
Prosecutors said in a court filing that his prison sentence was warranted in part to deter other people from threatening election officials.
“Threats to elections workers across the country are an ongoing and very serious problem,” wrote Jonathan Jacobsen, a Washington-based trial attorney for the Justice Department’s public integrity.
U.S. District Court Judge Kato Crews said during sentencing that the penalty “needed to be serious enough to deter others, particularly because threats against public officials are on the rise.”
Brockbank spent time on social media sites such as Gab and Rumble, the alternative video-sharing platform, which has been criticized for allowing and promoting right-wing extremism.
Tom Ward, his attorney, said these websites delivered “the message that the country was under attack and that patriotic Americans had a duty to rise up and act.”
According to the filing, “the digital personas he followed reinforced the idea that online speech was a battlefield and that he had a role to play.”
Ward also said Brockbank was influenced by the QAnon conspiracy theory. Court filings noted that Brockbank regularly consumed content on Rumble from Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Donald Trump, and Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.
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In a statement, Griswold said that “the far right has spread conspiracy theories to incite threats and violence against secretaries of state and election officials.”
“I will not be intimidated,” she added.
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