The Mesa County elections official, Tina Peters, is accused of leaking sensitive voting machine data that was presented at a conspiracy conference hosted by MyPillow.
In the Republican Mesa County, Peters has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, and she has echoed many of the lies about the integrity of the election that his camp has pushed.
The Colorado Secretary of State accused Peters of taking her advocacy for Trump a step further in a slew of post- election lawsuits, accusing Peters and an aide of distributing and potentially altering data from the County's voting machines.
Peters was arrested for resisting a search warrant for her iPad in February of 2022. She is running for Secretary of State in Colorado. Tina Peters' emergence into the national political spotlight is summarized here.
Peters won the GOP primary with over 50% of the vote, paving the way for him to win the election in Mesa County.
They expected to find votes for the presidential primary when they opened the ballot drop box. More than 500 ballots from the previous year's election were found.
Peters apologized for the error and said that he would face challenges to keep his trust.
The effort to recall Peters began with just over 12,000 signatures.
The recall petition stated thatTina Peters had failed in her duties as clerk and recorder.
The critics noted that the ballots had been left in a ballot box steps outside of Peters' offices for months. There were problems in the 2020 presidential primary election, according to the petition.
The Colorado Sun reported that organizers were unsuccessful in gathering enough signatures to hold a recall election.
There were several conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that Peters wrote about. Some have been removed.
Peters responded to Pat Toomey, who at the time chastised Republican colleagues who refused to certify the results of the 2020 election, for floating a false conspiracy theory.
Peters allowed an unauthorized consultant to access the county's voting machines with one of her aides requesting that election-department cameras be turned off for two weeks to allow that unauthorized third party to make a "forensic"
Peters was accused of repeating the conduct in May.
The Cyber Symposium conference was held in August of 2021. Colorado's Secretary of State filed a lawsuit weeks after the conference, accusing Peters of sharing election information with noted figures.
Two ethics complaints were filed against Peters after he attended the conference.
Peters was accused of allowing an unauthorized individual to participate in the secure process for installing an update to the County's electronic voting system and to have access to the secure voting system, which led to the public disclosure of State-guarded passwords.
Peters was not involved in the election. Wayne Williams, a Republican, was appointed by Griswold's office to take over for Peters for the rest of the year.
Peters hid in an undisclosed location for weeks after the accusations in the lawsuit came to light.
A judge in Colorado stripped election authority from Peters because she allowed an unauthorized person to access voting machines.
Peters and her aide were found to have neglected their duties by failing to protect confidential information and being untruthful. The aide was stripped of her role.
The decision bars Peters from further threatening the integrity of Mesa's elections and ensures Mesa County residents have a secure and accessible election.
The federal and state investigations were launched into Peters and her aide.
According to the Denver Post, Peters was sued again by the Colorado Secretary of State, this time for soliciting 2022, campaign contributions via a legal defense fund on her website, without properly submitting an affidavit to the state. Peters accused the Secretary of State of removing her from her post.
Four locations in Mesa County were raided by the FBI as part of its investigation. The Tina Peters Legal Defense Fund said that the home and friends of Peters were searched.
The FBI conducted law enforcement actions into potential criminal activity by employees of the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's Office. The activity took place at four different locations in Mesa and Garfield counties.
No one was taken into custody.
She could have her job back if she agreed to certify elections using a new set of security protocols that gave her less authority and if she walked back her statement that she wanted to have those machines so that they are transparent. Peters didn't want to.
In safe and secure elections, every eligible Coloradan has the right to make their voice heard. "As Clerk Peters is unwilling to commit to following election security protocols, I am taking action to make sure that Mesa County voters have the elections they deserve."
"Demanding someone recant their beliefs, especially beliefs for government transparency or else be punished is something we would expect to see in North Korea, China, or even medieval Europe," Peters replied.
In Colorado, only a judge can remove an elected official from office, and that's why Peters won't be taken off the ballot.
Peters sued again to remove her before the election, asking a judge to appoint a new director of elections.
Tina M. Peters, the clerk and recorder for Mesa County, and the deputy clerk and recorder for Mesa County, were removed from their election-related duties by the court. All election-related tasks related to the 2020 election are expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The Election Order required Peters to certify that she will comply with Colorado's laws as Mesa County's DEO in 2022. Peters wouldn't sign the document. The failure is a violation of the Election Order.
Tina Peters was taken into custody at a bagel shop.
Peters refused to give up her iPad when investigators from the Mesa County District Attorney's Office tried to take it.
The arrest was unrelated to the grand jury investigation. The Mesa County Clerk and Recorder is accused of using a computer to record a court hearing for someone she used to work with.
According to the affidavit, Peters stepped between a police officer and someone else. Peters was taken by her left bicep. Peters tried to kick back with her right leg and hit the other officer with her stun gun.
The video was posted on social media.
Do not kick. The officer asked if she understood, while another asked her to relax, to which Peters replied "No!"
Tina Peters announced a run for Colorado Secretary of State on Steve Bannon's War Room show as her cases against her play out
Peters said that Colorado deserved a secretary of state who would stand up to the Biden administration.
The secretary of state said that Peters is a danger to the state.
Tina Peters is not fit to be Secretary of State. According to a statement sent to Insider, Peters compromised voting equipment in order to prove a conspiracy. She works with election deniers, spreads lies about elections, and is under criminal investigation by a grand jury. Coloradans need a Secretary of State who will uphold the will of the people and not one who will endanger their voting rights.
Tina Peters was indicted by a Mesa County grand jury for her alleged role in the election data hack. A grand jury indicted her aide on six counts.
Peters was indicted on charges of trying to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the Secretary of State.
"Use of legal muscle to indict political opponents during an election isn't new strategy, but it's easier to execute when you have a district attorney who despises President Trump and any constitutional conservative like myself who continues to demand that all election evidence be made available to the public,"
Peters did not enter a plea.
Peters, Knisley, and another aide, Julie Fisher, are barred from administering elections in Mesa County after a ruling by a Colorado district judge, making it the second time in two years that Peters was stripped of that authority.
According to CNN, the court's decision bars Peters from further threatening the integrity of Mesa's elections and ensures Mesa County residents have the secure and accessible elections they deserve.
Peters will face a run-off on June 28 for the Republican nomination for Colorado Secretary of State, which she has been campaigning for.
Peters is up against Pam Anderson, a former county clerk in Colorado, as well as Mike O'Donnell.
The Secretary of State who sued Peters twice to limit her powers as Mesa County Clerk will face her again if Peters wins.
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