Family

“It made me feel like a sitting duck,” Griswold testi ed in court on April 11.

“All I knew is that someone said they were going to come kill me and started driving toward this state.”

Troopers eventually tracked Wertz to a Je erson County convenience store. ere, Wertz told the troopers his call was protected by his First Amendment right to free speech. “I have a right to call,” he said, “and disagree and give her a piece of mind.”

Public defenders and the prosecutor trying the case refused to say where Wertz is from, though voting records from 2022 list his address as Littleton.

Wertz’s conviction marks the second time a man has been found guilty of charges after threatening Griswold.

In October 2022, a Nebraska man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from threats he made against Griswold on social media. at was among the rst cases pursued by federal authorities as they tried to protect election o cials and workers across the country from a rise in threats stoked by former President Donald Trump’s false and baseless claims that he won the 2020 election. Wertz was tried under a state law passed in 2021 that made it a crime to threaten elected o cials.

Griswold told jurors that she received few threatening messages before the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She said that event “changed the atmosphere for election workers and secretaries of state.”

“ e onslaught of threats toward me happened in the summer of 2021,” Griswold said.

At the time, she had enacted a rule prohibiting third-party audits of election results or equipment. e prohibition was aimed at preventing rogue actors from following through with demands for audits from Trump supporters.

“Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted out falsely that I was stopping all audits,” Griswold said. “ at was retweeted by (U.S. Sen.) Ted Cruz and the threats started to come in. It was really scary. I was receiving 10 threats a day.”

Griswold has been outspoken against election deniers, often posting to social media and speaking out on cable TV news shows about the safety and security of Colorado’s elections. She is chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, a political organization. is isn’t the rst time the 2021 law has been used in Colorado courts. A Colorado man accused of making numerous calls to U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, and his sta in January pleaded guilty to threatening an elected o cial. A Denver man was also arrested last week for threatening Neguse over the congressman’s support for gun control. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Waiving his right to a speedy trial, a judge has given the defense more time to prepare for Casey Devol’s double murder trial.

TORREZ

Randy Torrez 11-05-1982 to 03-22-2023.

Randy Paul Torrez

November 5, 1982 - March 22, 2023

Randy was a highly accomplished heavy equipment mechanic, in spite of the fact that he was born hearing impaired. He was working in San Diego, California for Caterpillars excavating.

Randy is survived by his Brother’s David Torrez, from Brighton, Colorado. Brian

HARGREAVES

Torrez, from Napa Valley, California. His Mother Brenda Elatabani (Torrez, Johnson, Church) from Brighton, Colorado.

Randy’s Father was the late Leroy Torrez. Surviving Grandparents, Bonnie MacIntosh from Brighton CO and Betty Church from Brighton, CO. Randy will be highly missed by his father’s huge Torrez family.

Michael “Mike” Hargreaves

December 7, 1947 - March 27, 2023

Michael (Mike) Hargreaves passed away peacefully on March 27, 2023, in Louisville, Colorado. He was born on December 7, 1947, in Denver, Colorado, to Lawrence and Shirley Frank Hargreaves.

Final arrangements were handled by Rundus Funeral Home and Crematory in Broom eld, Colorado.

Mike’s full obituary can be found at www.rundus.com