What we know about the shooting at the Colorado Supreme Court building as the suspect appears in court
By Steve Almasy and Andi Babineau, CNN
(CNN) — The man accused of firing gunshots inside the Colorado Supreme Court building appeared Wednesday in court, where a judge set his bond at $100,000, noting the defendant’s alleged “escalating behavior” during the incident.
The shooting happened Tuesday morning after 1 a.m. when a man who fled a two-car accident scene shot out a window of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center and went in, according to a news release from Denver.
Police say the man forcibly took keys from an unarmed security guard, fired shots in the building and set a fire in a stairwell.
The break-in comes after a recent state Supreme Court ruling against former President Donald Trump’s eligibility for office, but an investigation “confirmed a high probability” the incident is not connected to recent threats against justices.
Here’s what we know about the shooting:
A man has been arrested
Denver police are holding Brandon Olsen, 44, who surrendered at the scene almost two hours after the vehicle crash, authorities said. Prosecutors haven’t formally charged him, and he is being held on charges of first-degree arson, aggravated robbery and second-degree burglary, according to online jail records. All are felonies.
His first court hearing occurred Wednesday morning, when Magistrate Arnie Beckman noted Olsen did not have a significant prior criminal history. But he called the allegations against Olsen “extremely aggravating.”
If released, stipulations of the bond agreement include a requirement that Olsen be subject to GPS monitoring and adhere to a curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The judge also issued protection orders requiring Olsen have no contact with the security guard he allegedly confronted or the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident that preceded the alleged break-in.
A court-appointed attorney representing Olsen did not object to the conditions. CNN has reached out to the Denver branch of the Colorado State Public Defender for comment.
Police don’t think there is a link to Trump court ruling
Olsen cooperated with interviews, according to a probable cause affidavit, but all of his statements in the court document are redacted. If he divulged a motive, authorities have not made it public.
The break-in comes two weeks after the court ruled 4-3 to remove Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot, finding he was ineligible to hold office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”
But authorities said Tuesday they don’t believe the decision and the break-in are related.
The building was almost empty
The downtown building – which houses the state’s Supreme Court, Colorado Court of Appeals and other judicial agencies – apparently had just two people in it when the man broke in during the overnight hours, authorities said.
The security guard was sitting alone at the information desk before investigating a noise, the affidavit says. The guard then was held at gunpoint by the suspect while trying to use a key to open a door for the pistol-wielding man, according to the court document.
The other person in the building who is mentioned in the affidavit is a woman who was working in an office. She told detectives she left when she heard the fire alarm and said she didn’t witness the shooting or fire.
Police said no one was injured during the ordeal, but “there is significant and extensive damage to the building.”
CNN’s Joe Sutton, Dakin Andone, Chris Boyette and Rachel Webb contributed to this report.
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