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Arrest sought of Colorado clerk in voting tampering case

Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and her chief deputy are being prosecuted for allegedly allowing a copy of a hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment in May 2021.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for an indicted Colorado clerk who has become a hero to election conspiracy theorists after she allegedly traveled out of state despite a court order not to do so, according to court documents.

A judge revoked bond for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is accused of tampering with voting equipment, after District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said in the documents that he had learned she traveled to Nevada for a conference.

Rubinstein said he made the discovery after Peters sent a letter notarized in Las Vegas on Tuesday to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, according to court documents. The letter was released by the secretary of state’s office and requested a recount in her failed primary election bid for the GOP nomination in the state secretary of state’s race.

Peters has echoed former President Donald Trump’s false theories about the 2020 election. She and her chief deputy are being prosecuted for allegedly allowing a copy of a hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment in May 2021. A former employee in her office was also arrested this week on allegations that she was part of the scheme.

Rubinstein had previously said he would not object to Peters traveling outside of Colorado during her campaign for secretary of state. But the election was held June 28 and the the court documents said the letter was notarized on July 12. Judge Matthew Barrett ordered Peters on Monday not to travel until the post-election approval process for her travel was resolved.

Peters did not immediately return a telephone call or text seeking comment, and a telephone message left with Peters’ attorney, Harvey Steinberg, was not immediately returned.

Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

She has dismissed the charges filed against her as politically motivated and has not yet entered a plea.

Mesa County, in western Colorado, is largely rural and heavily Republican. Trump won it in the 2020 presidential election with nearly 63 percent of the vote. President Joe Biden won Colorado overall with 55.4 percent of the state’s vote.