DENVER (CN) — A Colorado judge on Wednesday handed a 12-year prison sentence to a man found guilty of threatening and harassing judges in the state.
Using legal tactics popularized by the sovereign citizen movement, Nelson filed fraudulent motions for default judgments and powers of attorney against court staff and judges overseeing criminal and domestic cases where he was a defendant. Nelson also filed fake quitclaims deeds in an attempt to seize property he did not own.
The FBI labels such acts “paper terrorism" and characterizes sovereign citizens as a domestic terrorist movement that causes “all kinds of problems — and crimes. For example, many sovereign citizens don’t pay their taxes. They hold illegal courts that issue warrants for judges and police officers. They clog up the court system with frivolous lawsuits and liens against public officials to harass them.”
A grand jury indictment filed in April 2022 indicated Nelson made threatening calls and harassed more than a dozen named victims including 7th Judicial District Judges Keri Yoder, Donald Jackson and Ashley Burgemeister as well as Alamosa County Judge Daniel Walzl.
Senior District Judge Kenneth Plotz, who has been named in at least nine of the scores of civil complaints Nelson has filed, presided over the state’s case against him at the Gunnison County Combined Court.
After a 10-day trial in March, a jury found Brett Nelson, 45, of rural Mosca, Colorado, guilty of 20 criminal charges including extortion, conspiracy and retaliation.
Prosecutors argued that Nelson hoped to sway the outcome of his own cases. At his arraignment last year, Nelson characterized the proceedings as a “kangaroo court” and told the judge, “You terrify me, because you have absolutely no regard for my rights.”
Nelson often signed his legal complaints on behalf of "the House of Nelson, sovereign of the court." His official seal resembles a pawprint with a mountain range carved along the bottom and rays of sunlight emanating from the top.
"Brett Nelson's actions undermined the integrity of our legal system and endangered the safety of several Coloradans who were doing their job. This conviction and sentencing advances the rule of law and protects public safety,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement.
Nelson's defense attorney, Stephanie Grismer of Denver, did not return requests for comment.
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