Warrant Issued For Douglas Bruce After Courthouse Confrontation

DENVER (CBS4) - Former Colorado lawmaker Douglas Bruce is back in the spotlight, and once again the news isn't kind for the man behind Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Bruce is known for his outlandish comments and actions, and there's now a warrant out for the 65-year-old's arrest after a courthouse confrontation in which he allegedly assaulted a woman in a hallway.

The incident took place April 10 in Denver. Bruce was at the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse for a hearing regarding violation of his probation. Bruce was convicted of tax evasion in 2011.

In a video shot that day and obtained by CBS4 with permission, political activist Dede Laugesen tries to ask Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Helen Collins a question. She replies that she is a friend of Bruce's. Bruce then interrupts with questions of his own before grabbing Laugesen's camera.

"What about your hemmorrhoids? The public has a right to know," Bruce says in the video.

"Show the rent money, idiot. Show the rent money," he says as he grabs the camera.

Bruce was a state representative when he was caught in a similar debacle in 2008. He apologized before his fellow lawmakers at the time after kicking a photographer at the Capitol.

"I was doing my best to be cordial," he said in his 2008 apology. "But when they interrupted my attempt to pray in a public meeting, they went over the line."

Bruce's recent behavior could be problematic for his pending probation case. The assault warrant is one of two out on Bruce. He's also wanted out of Ohio for allegedly violating building and health codes on property he owns there.

CBS4 reached out to Bruce for comment but those calls were not returned.