Fireworks explode in the courtyard of Aurora Police headquarters, July 25, 2020, as protesters fervently demand for justice in the death of Elijah McClain. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
A shattered window of the Aurora Municipal Courthouse is seen, July 25, 2020, as a riot broke out following a protest and march calling for justice in the death of Elijah McClain. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Vandalism damage by protesters at Aurora City Hall complex. PHOTO BY PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Vandalism damage by protesters at Aurora City Hall complex. PHOTO BY PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Protesters return to Aurora City Hall after marching onto I-225. PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Demonstrators shut down Interstate 225, Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Aurora, Colo., during a protest against racial injustice and the death of Elijah McClain, who was stopped by police while walking down an Aurora street in August 2019 after a 911 caller reported him as suspicious. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP)
AURORA | A man will spend six years in prison for his role in protests that resulted in a fire at the Aurora Municipal Center Courthouse July, 25, 2020.
Arapahoe County Court Judge Ryan Stuart this week sentenced Jordan Joseph White, 20, to serve six years in state prison and pay $74,463.50 to the City of Aurora for property damage, saying that, “this was not an act of civil disobedience. Attacks on our temples of democracy — our capitols and our courthouses — must be met with swift justice.”
Police said a chaotic gathering of protesters, including White, at the Aurora Municipal Center ignited fireworks and other incendiary devices into the courthouse, sparking a small fire inside. Five courthouse employees were “trapped inside,” law enforcement officials said.
The protesters arrived at the municipal complex dressed in helmets, goggles and other tactical gear to protest the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. Earlier in the day a mass of protestors marched down Interstate 225, where a 23-year-old man shot and injured two people while shooting several rounds at a Jeep that sped through a throng of demonstrators.
Last Spring, Aurora Detective David Gallegos recommended charging White with felony counts of arson, inciting a riot and criminal mischief, and a pair of misdemeanor accusations for engaging in a riot and disobedience of public orders.
As part of a plea agreement, White pleaded guilty to a felony account of inciting a riot and fourth-degree arson.
Gallegos and other Aurora authorities levied their accusations against White in a 25-page arrest affidavit that heavily relied on video footage and testimony from a “confidential informant” who identified White after he was arrested near the state Capitol in Denver during another protest on Aug. 22. After initially running from police, he was tackled, arrested and charged with criminal mischief, according to court records.
The informant, who detectives indicated works with multiple law enforcement agencies across the region, said they recognized White as the suspected Aurora arsonist after seeing his face on a news report in late August.
Gallegos wrote that the unnamed informant has faced several felony convictions and spent time in state prison, though the person has never faced accusations of deceit or fraud and is therefore trustworthy.
“The utilization of the confidential informant has led to the recovery of evidence and significant arrests,” Gallegos wrote. “The confidential informant is considered credible at this time.”
The tipster presented detectives with videos that appeared to show White dismantling wooden boards attached to the side of the courthouse and using them to smash multiple windows, according to the arrest document. Those videos and others then reportedly show White and others launching fireworks and Molotov cocktails into the structure. Four Aurora employees were inside the building at the time.
The informant told police he did not know White’s legal name, but recognized him after seeing his distinctive red hair on news reports. He previously only knew White as the moniker “Joker” because of the male’s purple and red hair.
White was one of several others who were charged with felonies in connection to protests that summer.
A pair of leaders from the local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation faced dozens of felony charges in both Arapahoe and Adams Counties in connection with multiple demonstrations, including one that cordoned off access to a local police substation. Those charges were dropped by 18th District Attorney John Kellner, who has since announced his is running for state Attorney General against Phil Weiser.
In White’s case, Kellner said the attack on the courthouse was “an attack on the rule of law itself. ““Violence and destruction are not how we solve problems in our democracy, and this sentence should deter anyone who thinks to do this in our community.”
This article included previous reporting from Sentinel Colorado.