Eric Brandt, Who Advocated For Shooting Of Judges, Pleads Guilty To Retaliating Against Colorado Judges

DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver man accused of repeatedly retaliating against several Colorado judges has pleaded guilty. Activist Eric Brandt's plea means he could face up to 18 years in prison for three separate cases where he retaliated against judges in Denver, Jefferson County and Adams County.

The Denver case happened in 2019. Brandt was charged with a felony of retaliation after he allegedly made several videos threatening a specific Denver County Court judge, and called the judge's office saying he thought the judge should be shot in front of his children, according to documents and recordings obtained by CBS4.

Brandt posted a video online that gave the judge's home address and called for their murder.

His actions led to police having to provide extra patrols at the judge's home.

Brandt will be sentenced next Tuesday.

Steve Zansberg, an attorney specializing in First Amendment law, told CBS4 earlier that charges like the ones Brandt pleaded guilty to are rare.

"For people to be prosecuted for their speech and speech alone is an extremely rare occurrence and we should be thankful for that, and even when that does occur, there is a valid defense the speech is not within those categories of unprotected speech," Zansberg said. "So, that will be, I presume, because Mr. Brandt has a history of making outrageous comments and going right up to the line, and the question here is whether or not he crossed that line."