Colorado Judges’ Homes Get Extra Patrols After Threats for Trump Ruling

Additional security has been put in place around the homes of the Colorado Supreme Court judges who recently disqualified Donald Trump from running for the presidency in the state.

The FBI and the Denver Police Department said they are investigating reports of threats issued against the justices who were part of the historic 4-3 ruling to prohibit the frontrunner in the GOP primary from appearing on Colorado’s ballots after ruling Trump violated the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause.

On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s actions on and around January 6, 2021, violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states a person who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath of office to support the Constitution should be barred from running for office again. Trump is set to appeal the ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Denver Police Department confirmed in a statement to Axios and Fox News that it is “providing extra patrols around justice’s residences” following the threats against the justices and “will provide additional safety support if/as requested.”

The department said it is investigating “incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and will continue working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate any reports of threats or harassment” without elaborating further.

The Denver Police Department also said that law enforcement responded to a justice’s home on December 21 in response to what “appears to be a hoax report.”

“Everything checked clear, and we are continuing to investigate this report. Due to security and privacy considerations, and the ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide any additional information at this time,” a DPD spokesperson told CNN.

Newsweek reached out to the Denver Police Department via email for comment.

The increase in security arrived after the FBI said it is working with law enforcement officials in Colorado to “vigorously pursue” allegations of threats of violence by someone who uses “extremist views to justify their actions regardless of motivation.”

There have been numerous threats issued online against the Colorado Supreme Court judges in the wake of the decision to disqualify Trump from running for office, according to the non-partisan Advance Democracy research group.

“This ends when we kill these f*****s,” one user on the far-right message board site The Donald wrote.

“Kill judges. Behead judges. Roundhouse kick a judge into the concrete,” another post on a fringe website read. “Slam dunk a judge’s baby into the trashcan.”

Daniel J. Jones, the president of Advance Democracy and a former FBI investigator, told NBC News: “We are seeing significant violent language and threats being made against the Colorado justices and others perceived to be behind [the] Colorado Supreme Court ruling.

“The normalization of this type of violent rhetoric—and lack of remedial action by social media entities—is cause for significant concern,” Jones said. “Trump’s statements, which have sought to delegitimize and politicize the actions of the courts, is serving as a key driver of the violent rhetoric. Political leaders on both sides of the political aisle need to speak out against these calls for violence, and social media platforms need to reassess their role in hosting and promoting this rhetoric.”