Longtime critic of voting machines charged in firebombing of Colorado election office

DENVER (AP) — A longtime critic of voting machines and local government has been charged with arson for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail-like device into the office holding the voting equipment in his Colorado mountain community.

William Wayne Bryant, in a brief court appearance Wednesday, was advised of the charges presented against him in the June 12 firebombing of a county building in Pagosa Springs. The overnight attack sparked a fire that damaged Dominion Voting Systems equipment in the county clerk’s office and damaged the assessor’s office upstairs, police said.

Court documents show Bryant faces two counts of arson and one count of using an explosive or incendiary device.

Bryant’s lawyer, David Karl Ottman, said that his client was presumed innocent. He told Archuleta County Judge Justin Fay he was concerned that officials, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, have spoken out about the case and that photographs of the damaged election equipment have been released publicly.

Ottman, who declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press, urged Fay to issue an order limiting what officials can say about the case. Fay didn’t act immediately but said he would not be able to put limits on those like Griswold who are outside his jurisdiction.

Griswold, a Democrat who serves as Colorado’s chief election official, said the attack was another example of how conspiracy theories have “destabilized” elections.

No motive provided

Police said the device was thrown through a window into a room in the clerk’s office that held the Dominion equipment. But authorities haven’t provided a motive so far.

Bryant has long been critical of Dominion and also has been outspoken against taxes and rising property valuations and also spoke out against encouraging students to be vaccinated, according to the minutes of county commissioners’ meetings.

The firebombing incident follows years of false claims surrounding elections and voting systems, pushed by President Donald Trump and his allies after his 2020 election loss. Many of the claims have focused on Dominion Voting Systems, one of the largest voting machine companies. Despite Trump’s claims, there was no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation of voting systems.

Bryant suggested Dominion was to blame for loss

Bryant ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in the county in the scenic San Juan Mountains in 2022 and repeatedly urged county commissioners to abandon the Dominion election equipment and count ballots by hand in the election he lost.

In one case, Bryant told county commissioners at a May 2022 meeting that the film “2,000 Mules” had exposed voter fraud and asked them to abandon the Dominion equipment. The debunked film amplified claims that ballot drop boxes were responsible for massive voter fraud in the 2020 election.

After his defeat, Bryant suggested in a video on his campaign page that “Dominion algorithims” were to blame for his loss.

“They don’t want patriots, people that are willing to stand up and fight for this country,” he said.

In another video in May 2023, Bryant said he and others were outraged by a huge jump in property valuations and that some people might have to sell their properties because they would no longer be able to pay their taxes. In the video, which included “taxation without representation” in its title, Bryant claimed that the local 2022 election had been stolen from him and another candidate.

Police identified Bryant as the only person in the area at the time of the fire, according to surveillance video from different locations laid out as police evidence in an arrest affidavit. In addition to citing Bryant’s criticism of Dominion equipment to the county commissioners, Bryant also had expressed “anti-government views” and had called taxation “extortion” on social media, the affidavit said.

Election work continues

Archuleta County clerk and recorder Kristy Archuleta said a sheriff’s deputy awoke her the night of the fire. Arriving around 2:30 a.m., she said she learned the fire had occurred in a locked room where ballots are counted. A Dominion ballot scanner and computers used to review ballots were among items damaged, she said.

“It’s just scary to think that somebody is going to be that angry that they’re going to light our workspace on fire,” Archuleta said recently. “What if this was done during the day? Lots of people could have been hurt.”

Archuleta, a Republican elected in 2018, said the county of some 12,000 active, registered voters has largely been supportive of the office’s work, which also handles motor vehicle registration and marriage licenses. But she said there has been a vocal group upset about the use of voting machines since the 2020 election who have sought a move to hand counting.

“People would call and yell and all the things. But all we can do is tell them we do our jobs according to law and rule,” she said.

Because of the damage to her office, Archuleta and her employees are working in a conference room as they wait for a new temporary office. Wherever they end up working from, she said they still have to have the ballot for the next election certified in the next two months.

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Cassidy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.