ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) – A 20-year-old man will spend six years in prison for his role in inciting a riot that led protestors to ignite a fire inside the Aurora Municipal Courthouse.
An Arapahoe County Judge sentenced Jordan Joseph White after he was identified on surveillance video in July 2020 wearing military-style fatigues, smashing windows, directing other rioters and throwing fireworks into the building through the broken windows.
White was then charged with six counts, including first-degree arson, inciting a riot, criminal mischief, engaging in a riot, and disobedience of public safety orders under riot conditions.
As part of a plea agreement, White pleaded guilty to two felony counts: inciting a riot and fourth-degree arson.
During the incident, a large group of protestors surrounded the Aurora Municipal Center Complex. Prosecutors said the protest turned into a riot as several participants wearing helmets, goggles and masks covered surveillance cameras and began tearing down a fence.
The rioters also launched “commercial-grade” fireworks horizontally at police officers who were staged in the area.
Rioters then began to tear down the boarding that had been put up on the courthouse and used it to smash windows.
Fireworks were then set off inside the building. Five courthouse employees were trapped inside the building while the rioters caused more than $74,000 in property damage.
“Twenty-seven people had to come in the next day and just sit down in the rubble and get back to work,” said Deputy District Attorney Justin Friedberg in a media statement. “The aftermath only speaks to the violent nature of the acts, but doesn’t speak at all to the trauma of the judges and court staff that had to return to that scene.”