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Kirk Wertz, 52, was arrested on Wednesday night and placed in
Denver's jail, the records show. He faces a felony charge of
"retaliation" against an elected official.
On the morning of June 30, the office of Secretary of State Jena
Griswold received a threat from a caller, according to
Griswold's office.
"Hey, I've got a message for the Secretary and I want you to
pass it along: The angel of death is coming for her in the name
of Jesus Christ," Griswold's office said the caller stated.
The arrest is the first for an election-related threat since
Colorado lawmakers in May 2021 passed legislation criminalizing
retaliation against elected officials.
State officials added further protections this year following a
Reuters series of investigative reports documenting a nationwide
wave of threats and harassment against election officials by
supporters of former President Donald Trump's false claims that
the 2020 election was stolen.
Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement that threats were
being used to intimidate election officials "in an effort to
destabilize democracy."
"The wave of violent threats directed at election officials and
workers across the county is extremely concerning," Griswold
added.
Wertz did not have a lawyer listed on the court documents and
efforts to contact him were unsuccessful.
Carolyn Tyler, the communications director for the Denver
District Attorney's Office, said she was not immediately able to
provide guidelines for the punishment Wertz could face.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Jason Szep and
Jonathan Oatis)
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