Colorado’s Court of Appeals upheld the renewal of a “red flag” order against a man who threatened to kill Attorney General Phil Weiser.

A Denver probate judge twice renewed the extreme risk protection order, sought by the Denver Police Department, originally granted against Bryce Jordan Sidney Shelby in November 2020 because of social media posts allegedly threatening to kill police in the year-and-a-half since the first order, coupled with his original alleged plot to kill Weiser.

Colorado’s legislature passed an extreme risk protection order law in 2019, also known as a “red flag” law, that allows – when it was passed – law enforcement agencies and family members to petition a court to ask that a person be barred from possessing or purchasing guns if they pose a significant risk to themselves or others. A red flag order lasts for 364 days, but can be renewed on request.

Case: Denver Police Department v. Bryce Jordan Sidney Shelby

Decided: May 25, 2023

Jurisdiction: City and County of Denver

Ruling: 3-0

Judges: Retired Judge JoAnn Vogt (author)

Neeti Pawar (concurrence)

Karl Schock (concurrence)

Shelby allegedly told an undercover FBI agent specific details of a plan to kill Weiser at his home, while parked outside it, after the bureau started an investigation based on threats Shelby had made on social media to kill government officials. Denver police petitioned for a red flag order in November 2020, which also alleged Shelby self-identified with groups promoting violence, he had attended violent protests in Denver and Aurora while armed with assault rifles and posed on social media with the two assault rifles he owned. Shelby agreed to surrender his firearms for a year.

The Denver judge granted a renewal of the order in October 2021 and again in September 2022. Shelby appealed the second renewal, now upheld by the Court of Appeals.

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The appeals court found Shelby’s conduct since the initial red flag order supported the renewal. It declined to address a broader interpretation of the red flag law Shelby’s attorney raised that evidence of recent conduct must support the renewal of an extreme risk protection order beyond evidence supporting the original petition. His attorney argued the Denver Police Department had not met its burden of showing Shelby continued to pose a threat.

Shelby allegedly posted a photo on Facebook in April 2021 referencing a Latino gang shooting at police cars after a 13-year-old boy was killed by a Chicago officer and commented: “It’s lovely when other races do what black people SHOULD have been doing since Rodney King AT LEAST.” He also posted photos of himself and other people holding guns with a caption that he believed in physically defending himself as a Black person rather than getting involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.

In April 2022 he allegedly posted a painting on social media of a Black man with a gun standing over the bodies of white British soldiers, referencing an 1824 battle between Ghanian troops and invading British forces. The caption included threats, and Shelby commented “#Energy.”

Shelby testified in his defense he meant the post to reference the Russian invasion of Ukraine and extreme measures people have to take to defend their land.

A Denver police detective testified Shelby showed a proclivity for encouraging people “to take the law into their own hands because they’re not getting the racial justice that they would like and indiscriminately shooting police officers.”

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Shelby’s mother also testified about a 911 call she made at 3:30 a.m. in January 2022, requesting a police officer near the house because Shelby had gotten a flat tire on his way home and she was concerned about the potential for a fight when he arrived. She said she wanted Shelby to take more responsibility for himself, but said she was not afraid of him and didn’t oppose him owning guns.

“Although (the evidence of Shelby’s threat against Weiser) was by far the most serious and concerning conduct, it did not stand alone. Instead, DPD presented other evidence – the 911 call and the social media posts – which, viewed through the lens of the initial assassination plot, further supported the probate court’s finding that Shelby continued to pose a significant risk,” wrote Judge JoAnn Vogt, a retired judge sitting on the three-judge panel at the chief justice’s assignment.

She wrote the appeals court may not necessarily agree with how the probate court gave weight to certain evidence, though she did not elaborate, but wrote the possibility the court could come to a different conclusion based on the same evidence is not enough to overturn the probate court.

The Denver Gazette has reached out to Shelby’s attorney for comment.

Colorado ‘red flag’ law shows some success, but inconsistent use

Colorado’s legislature passed a bill in the final days of this year’s session expanding the list of people who can seek extreme risk protection orders. It now includes district attorneys, college faculty and K-12 teachers, school counselors, and medical and behavioral health professionals. 

The call to expand the list of who can petition for red flag orders grew after the Club Q shooting in November, when a suspect killed five people at the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub. The accused shooter, Anderson Lee Aldrich, was already known to Colorado Springs law enforcement for making a bomb threat the year before. 

Colorado Politics reporter Marianne Goodland contributed to this report.