Gunman shoots way into Colorado Supreme Court building, sets fire before surrendering: police

A 43-year-old man was arrested early Tuesday after he opened fire and barricaded himself inside the Colorado Supreme Court building in Denver, authorities said.

The Colorado State Patrol said in a statement they did not believe the incident was related to earlier threats against the court’s seven justices after they ruled 4-3 Dec. 19 that former President Donald Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s March 5 primary ballot.

The suspect, identified as Brandon Olsen, was involved in a car crash outside the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center at around 1:15 a.m. and aimed a handgun at the other driver before shooting his way into the building through a window, per CSP.

After breaking in, Olsen allegedly held an unarmed security guard at gunpoint. He then confiscated that officer’s keys and made his way to the seventh floor, according to investigators.

While there, Olsen fired more shots and apparently set a fire, triggering the fire extinguishers, according to the Denver Police affidavit signed in support of his arrest.

Around 3 a.m., Olsen surrendered to law enforcement officials who had surrounded the building.

“There are no injuries to building occupants, the suspect, or police personnel,” authorities noted in a press release.

Several hours after the incident, a large shattered window could be seen on the ground floor of the building, with glass spilled out on the sidewalk along a busy street downtown. A CSP trooper guarded the scene.

The Centennial State justices determined that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, ran afoul of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.

Trump has been allowed to stay on the primary ballot barring an extraordinary intervention by the US Supreme Court to uphold or otherwise affirm the Colorado court’s decision before primary ballots are printed later this week.

CSP has said it has increased security for the Supreme Court justices since their ruling but declined to detail how. It said its security officers at the entrances to state buildings are unarmed but can call armed state patrol officers stationed nearby for help.

An investigation into the matter is ongoing.

With Post wires