October 05, 2021 02:08 PM UTC

Court Documents Reveal Colorado GOP Chair Led Conspiracy Group in 2020

• 2 Comments
• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(‘Splain this – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Recently released Court documents from the defamation lawsuit against election conspiracist Joe Oltmann reveal that Colorado GOP Chair Kristi Burton Brown last year served as President of FEC United, Oltmann’s far-right conspiracy group, at the same time she was serving as vice-chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

According to Oltmann, who is being sued for defamation by a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems, Brown stepped down from leading FEC United when she decided to run for chair of the state party. Brown announced her candidacy for that position on Jan. 21 of this year. 

This information, revealed by Oltmann in a virtual deposition taken on Sept. 9, confirms the statement of another FEC United representative, Stu Butler, who as of June serves as the group’s temporary president. At Oltmann’s request, Butler appeared at an Aug. 11 deposition of FEC United. In it, he also named Brown as the former president of FEC United.

The transcripts of Butler’s and Oltmann’s depositions were recently made public, along with numerous other depositions and exhibits, including the Colorado Times Recorder’s first article about Oltmann and FEC United.

Last Oct. 6, as reported by the Colorado Times Recorder,  Brown gave a presentation in Colorado Springs on the group’s “Law & Policy Center,” an as yet unrealized project for which Brown provided the “conceptual framework.”

Its inaugural project was supposed to be a series of lawsuits against journalists for “unequal treatment,” which never happened. Oltmann has threatened to sue the Colorado Times Recorder on numerous occasions. 

Brown did not respond to a voicemail request for comment asking to clarify the specific dates of her FEC United presidency, but her activity with the group indicates she was leading the group when it, along with its affiliated militia, United American Defense Force, co-hosted a “Patriot Muster” rally in Denver’s Civic Center Park Oct. 10 that turned deadly when a group member sprayed bear repellant and slapped a man who subsequently shot and killed him. The shooter, who was carrying a concealed handgun, was working as a security guard for a 9News reporter.

During Brown’s presidency, FEC United promoted numerous conspiracies including those related to COVID, election fraud, and QAnon. Founder Oltmann called the coronavirus crisis a “Plandemic,” and said at the Patriot Muster, “If you believe in the pandemic, that’s on you.” FEC United emails inviting members to attend a Red Tidal Wave Election Night Watch Party, offered snacks, “like Q Popcorn,” referencing the QAnon conspiracy which the Trump administration’s FBI considered a domestic terror threat. 

Following the 2020 election, the group, under Brown’s leadership, repeatedly promoted the “Big Lie” election fraud conspiracy.

A Nov. 7 email asked members to join a “Stop the Steal” rally in Colorado Springs. A Nov. 25 email urged members to call Secretary of State Jena Griswold to “stop hiding information” regarding Dominion Voting Systems, referencing another election conspiracy that accused the Denver-based company of rigging the election. It is for these debunked claims that a former Dominion employee is suing Oltmann, the Trump Campaign, Rudolph Giuliani, and several right-wing media hosts, resulting in the deposition revealing that Burton Brown used to be president of Oltmann’s group. 

This article will be updated with any response from Brown.