Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella recommended that Douglas County podcaster and gun store owner Joe Oltmann be held in contempt of court for fleeing a June 6 deposition.
In her recommendation, Starnella noted that Oltmann had previously been sanctioned for noncompliance during depositions. “Despite Denver District Court sanctions of more than $50,000, Mr. Oltmann appears to have knowingly and intentionally flouted this Court’s Orders and the rule of law,” she wrote. “As demonstrated by his appearance on the CONSERVATIVE DAILY podcast, Mr. Oltmann has an apparent disdain for a system he asserts has been “weaponize[d]” against him. Moreover, Mr. Oltmann appears to insinuate that he can ward off the legal system by threatening violence. Such conduct undermines the integrity and truth-seeking aspects of discovery, frustrates justice, and should not be condoned.”
Starnella stopped short of recommending Oltmann be jailed for contempt, instead recommending additional sanctions and a daily fine. “Based on the legal authorities and Mr. Oltmann’s conduct, the undersigned recommends that Mr. Oltmann be sanctioned in an amount of the fees the parties directly incurred because of Mr. Oltmann’s noncompliance (e.g., court reporter and videographer fees; attorney fees incurred during the deposition, conferences in the undersigned’s chambers, and the contempt hearing),” she wrote. “Additionally, to coerce Mr. Oltmann’s compliance, the undersigned recommends that a sanction of $300, plus appropriate additional daily sanctions, be imposed on Mr. Oltmann after any final order on an order to show cause issues and until Mr. Oltmann comes into compliance with the Court’s Orders.”
Oltmann is currently a defendant in a defamation lawsuit brought by former Dominion Voting systems executive Eric Coomer, who Oltmann claims was part of an “antifa conference call” in which he admitted to rigging the 2020 presidential election. In addition to Oltmann, media figures, attorneys, the Trump campaign, and other entities who platformed or repeated Oltmann’s claims have become the subject of defamation lawsuits brought by Coomer, and Oltmann has been deposed in multiple cases. Denver District Court Judge Marie Moses found Oltmann’s story about the alleged call “evasive and not credible,” and concluded that Oltmann’s ‘statements regarding that conference call are probably false.”
The only evidence supporting Oltmann’s claims that the “antifa conference call” took place are photos Oltmann provided of handwritten notes he says he took during the call, and a screenshot of the Google search of “eric dominion denver colorado” Oltmann claims he made on Sept. 26, 2020, prior to the election.
However, Washington Post investigative reporter Chris Dehghanpoor pointed out that the distinctive “Google doodle” on Oltmann’s screenshot was actually from Nov. 11, 2020, suggesting he fabricated the evidence submitted to the court. The title of the document Oltmann submitted is “SCREENSHOT OF ‘eric dominion denver colorado’ taken on 9/26/20.”
Oltmann described the court forcing him to reveal the identity of his source, if the source actually exists, as “lawfare.”
Oltmann fled the June 6 deposition, part of Coomer’s lawsuit against Reawaken America Tour founder Clay Clark, after refusing the answer questions about his source for the “antifa conference call” and how he obtained social media posts from Coomer’s private accounts. After fleeing the deposition, Oltmann went live on his Conservative Daily podcast to discuss the incident.
“I knew what they were going to do,” Oltmann said. “I even told Mark [Sares, Oltmann’s attorney] before we walked in there. I was like, listen, I’m not answering these questions. And if it happens, I’m going to do something. And I have to be careful what you tell the attorney because you don’t want to put them between a rock and a hard spot. But it was weird because he was like, ‘Well, you know, we can just go in front of the judge.’ And I was like, ‘That’s not how it works, Mark. That’s not how it works. They’re going to make that threat, they’re going to take the threat, they’re going to weaponize the system, they’re going to force me to divulge my sources.’”
Despite the ongoing defamation lawsuits and potential legal liability, Oltmann has continued to discuss his case, repeat his contested claims, and attack critics on Conservative Daily and social media. Oltmann has also continued to spread conspiracies about the 2020 election and election integrity. Last month he appeared remotely during a special meeting of the Custer County Commissioners to urge county officials to remove the county’s Dominion voting machines. Earlier this month, a similar meeting was held in Rio Grande County. Matt Crane, the director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, has spoken out against the claims made by Oltmann and others.
Yesterday Oltmann posted to Facebook, “I’m over the trash heaps gaslighting the people. I’m going to do an entire special on Eric Coomer, his piece of trash lawyer… we will go through Matt Crane, and of course his henchmen who he parades around. Only Custer County recorded him. Good for court, and really good for the court of public opinion. It’s time the misinformation lying traitors get exactly what they deserve. They are desperate but it’s a clear establishment group, not just Democrats. Matt Crane, Deborah Flora, Jena Griswold, George Soros… they are all on the same twisted, dishonest team.”
Read Starnella’s full recommendation here:
