DENVER (AP) — A man who called the office of Colorado’s top elections official to say that the “angel of death was coming for her in the name of Jesus Christ” has been sentenced to two years of probation.
Fifty-two-year-old Kirk Wertz was sentenced Monday after being convicted last week of one count of retaliating against an elected official, a felony, for the June 2022 call to the office of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.
Court documents showed Wertz was arrested July 6, 2022, after investigators tracked his cell phone moving from Kansas to Colorado following the phone call to Griswold’s office. He admitted to the call and was taken into custody without incident.
According to a court document, when a state trooper called him back, Wertz refused to answer whether he planned to harm Griswold. He also described himself as an “Oath Taker and an Oath Keeper."
He denied being a member of the far-right extremist group.
Wertz had been in custody for 286 days when he was sentenced.
“Any person who engages in threatening behavior towards elected officials must be held accountable,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “I extend my gratitude to District Attorney Kirk and law enforcement for their efforts in this case. It is imperative that we reject the normalization of violent threats directed towards secretaries of state, election officials, and election workers in Colorado and throughout the United States. We must continue to affirm that violence has no place in democracy. As secretary of state, I will not be deterred by attempts at intimidation and remain steadfast in my promise to ensure that every Republican, Democrat, and Unaffiliated can make their voice heard in secure and accessible elections.”
