Judge Shams REVENGE!

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]And some people may hear this case and wonder whether or not jail time is too severe for speech. Definitely a fair question and her supporters and her lawyer do feel like the judge went too far in this case. A Denver County Court Judge did sentence Benson to 60 days in jail and 2 years probation for what Benson maintains was protected free speech. Her attorney says the case will now head to appeal.

[00:00:25]Reagan Benson arrived at Denver County Court wearing a shirt that read freedom.

[00:00:30]Something her defense team argued is at the center of this case. I want the police to feel The case stems from this live stream Benson recorded last year outside a Denver police station. During that stream Benson asked her YouTube followers to identify the home address of a Denver police commander. Viewers provided the address and Benson repeated it on the stream while also saying there should be a pig roast at the commander's house. Prosecutors charged her under Colorado's anti-doxing law and a jury later convicted her. And the court uh finds that the defendant has no respect for the law.

[00:01:08]At today's sentencing Judge Issam Shamsid-Deen delivered a sharp rebuke of Benson's conduct. But there's no accountability whatsoever coming from this defendant and it's everyone else is at a knowledge or intelligence deficit. The judge said the sentence was also meant to deter both Benson and her roughly 20,000 YouTube followers from similar behavior. If the court doesn't deter them, they may be encouraged to commit this same act or a similar act.

[00:01:39]The judge initially sentenced Benson to 90 days in jail and 2 years probation until prosecutors advised the judge that the sentence exceeded the legal maximum.

[00:01:49]The maximum amount of jail that the court can sentence her to as a condition of that probation is 60 days. The judge then reduced the jail term to 60 days. I know what she does is protected by the First Amendment. Benson's attorney says the conviction will be appealed on First Amendment grounds, arguing her client's comments did not rise to the level of an imminent threat. You can't punish people for what they believe.

[00:02:14]And that's exactly what the judge is doing here. He doesn't agree with Reagan Benson's views on the police.

[00:02:20]And he wants to deter her from continuing to express those views. And it is offensive to me and scary that our prosecutors in Denver are doing the same thing the Department of Justice is doing under this administration. Benson's husband also criticized the prosecutors and police for pursuing the case. They're very intimidated by her words and they're very scared of her camera.

[00:02:44]While Reagan Benson remains in jail tonight, the court has set a $3,000 appeal bond for her. If she posts that bond, she would be released while the appeal moves forward. So, she could be out of jail as early as tonight or maybe tomorrow. Denver's DA did give us a statement this afternoon. He said he supports First Amendment expression, but that Benson's conduct, as he put it, crossed the line. Certainly not the last we have heard of this case. And Brian, this is a high-profile case because it's the first of its kind. So, a lot of people across the state are watching what happens here.

[00:03:14]>> First time someone's been charged and convicted under the state's anti-doxing law. Brian, you've been on top of it from the beginning. Thank you.