Man Breaks Into Colorado Supreme Court, Takes Hostage While Firing Gun: Police

An armed man broke into the Colorado Supreme Court early Tuesday and took a security guard hostage while firing multiple gunshots and causing “significant and extensive damage,” authorities said.

The individual, who was not immediately identified, shot out a window to gain access to the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver shortly after being involved in a two-car crash outside the building around 1:15 a.m., the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said in a release.

The man, who allegedly pointed a handgun at the other driver before fleeing the scene, entered the building and held an unarmed guard with the CSP’s Capitol Security Unit at gunpoint. He then demanded access to other parts of the building, which also houses the Colorado Court of Appeals, the CSP said.

“The individual obtained keys from the security guard and proceeded into other parts of the building and accessed an unknown number of floors,” state police said.

The suspect fired multiple gunshots inside before calling 911 and voluntarily surrendering around 3 a.m. No injuries were reported, though there is “significant and extensive damage to the building and the investigation is ongoing,” police said.

The man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, authorities added.

The incident came two weeks after Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot. The court ruled that he is ineligible to hold office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”

The break-in is most likely not related to that ruling or recent threats against the court’s justices, state police said citing a preliminary investigation that’s being led by the Denver Police Department.

A spokesperson for the city’s police department did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.