Denver Fenton Allen was in jail for making terroristic threats. While in jail he had beaten a fellow inmate to death. On June 17th, 2016, a pretrial hearing was held by Judge Bryant Durham. This hearing was to determine if Denver could have new counsel named to represent him at his upcoming murder trial. When Durham refused to name new counsel, Denver unleashed a stream of profanities on him and threatened to kill his whole family. Durham verbally fought back, provoking him with other insults, until Durham eventually adjourned the hearing.