Prosecutors have charged a Pagosa Springs man who has a history of election denialism in connection with the June firebombing of the Archuleta County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
William Wayne Bryant, 71, was arrested June 26 and charged with first degree arson and possession of an explosive or incendiary device, according to court records.
His arrest came two weeks after a man was captured on video throwing a Molotov cocktail through the window of a government building that included the Archuleta County clerk and assessor’s offices. The room that was targeted by the attack “also houses the Dominion Voting Machines,” according to Bryant’s arrest affidavit.
The attack happened after 1 a.m. June 12. No one was injured, though the clerk’s office sustained “moderate to severe fire and smoke damage,” according to a county press release. The offices remain closed and some county services remain suspended, though Archuleta County Clerk and Recorder Kristy Archuleta said she hoped to be up and running again soon.
“Just knowing that someone is going to take their anger to that level, it is scary,” she said Monday. “Because if we would’ve been in the building, people would’ve been hurt. That’s the only part to be thankful for, is that he did it in the middle of the night.”
Dominion and its voting equipment have become a prime target of baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Bryant had twice attended 2022 Archuleta County county commission meetings to express “dissatisfaction” with the machines, according to board meeting minutes. Those beliefs were in part driven by the debunked election denialist film “2000 Mules,” according to the minutes. The creator of that film has since apologized and halted its distribution.
Video footage shows Bryant near the site of the attack, allegedly carrying the same bag and wearing similar clothes to those worn by the man seen in surveillance video throwing a lit bottle through the clerk’s office window, according to the arrest affidavit.
The affidavit states that Bryant “is known to have anti-government beliefs,” citing social media posts and his comments to the county commission.
Sixth Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray declined to comment Monday, beyond noting that Bryant was presumed innocent until proven guilty. David Ottman, the attorney who Murray said is representing Bryant, also declined to comment.
Archuleta, the county clerk and recorder, said all of the equipment in the room that was hit by the firebomb must be replaced; she’s waiting on a cost estimate from Dominion. Twenty-seven employees have been displaced, and routine services like title registration have been suspended.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold, the state’s top elections official, said in an interview Monday that it was “appalling that a Colorado election office was firebombed, even more so that that suspect has a history of spreading election conspiracies.”
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