KRDO13 Investigates: How pornography and Nazi imagery are hijacking Colorado courtrooms
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A routine court hearing in El Paso County was abruptly interrupted this month after graphic pornography and Nazi imagery appeared during a virtual Webex proceeding, forcing the judge to shut down the hearing.
The incident is not isolated.
The Colorado Judicial Department tells KRDO13 Investigates it has received reports of at least 28 virtual courtroom disruptions across the state in the past six months and is now testing a new virtual court platform designed to better protect online proceedings.
KRDO13 Investigates obtained video from the El Paso County hearing showing the disruption. We also obtained video from a similar disruption during a Pueblo County court proceeding the week prior.
Defense attorney Jeremy Loew was inside the El Paso County courtroom when the incident happened.
"Literally, it would be men gratifying themselves with swastikas swirling around the screen," Loew said.
Loew said the judge immediately shut down the virtual hearing after the explicit content appeared. "This is pornographic and anti-Semitic images being projected throughout a courtroom for people to observe. And it's just not appropriate."
This is not the first time KRDO13 Investigates has reported on disruptions inside Colorado's virtual court system. In 2024, we documented similar incidents involving explicit content interrupting online court proceedings.
According to the Colorado Judicial Department, the people responsible often gain access by joining virtual hearings through publicly available links while posing as legitimate participants, including attorneys, law enforcement officers or interpreters. Once admitted into a proceeding, they can activate their audio or video and display explicit or hateful content to everyone participating in the hearing.
The department says court staff has implemented best practices that include locking virtual proceedings, screening participants before admitting them, and using existing controls to remove disruptors.
Following repeated incidents, the Judicial Department requested and received $200,000 from the Colorado General Assembly to procure a new digital court solution with enhanced security controls. Officials say the new platform is currently being tested but declined to identify the courtrooms involved, saying that information could be used by future disruptors.
When asked whether incidents like this undermine confidence in the judicial system, Loew said the courts face the challenge of balancing security with public access.
"I wouldn't say it undermines confidence in the judicial system, but we do need to figure out a way to allow people to get into the WebEx," Loew said.
The Judicial Department told KRDO13 Investigates that disrupting a court proceeding may be a criminal offense, but any potential criminal charges would be up to law enforcement.
The department also said it is not aware of anyone ever being charged in Colorado for disrupting a virtual court proceeding by displaying explicit or inappropriate content.
If you have a tip you want our team to investigate, email us: 13Investigates@krdo.com.
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