Pro-Trump clerk convicted of election tampering goes on show a day later to promote same false claims
Tina Peters, who helped steal voters’ data in Colorado, was convicted on seven felony counts related to election tampering
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A former pro-Trump county clerk pushed conspiracies about voting machine tampering - just one day after being criminally convicted of the same thing.
Tina Peters, who worked in Mesa County was convicted of seven out of 10 criminal charges on Monday, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.
The jury acquitted her of one felony count of identity theft and two felony counts of criminal impersonation. Prosecutors told jurors that the woman had used a security badge to access the election system without the owner’s consent.
Even after her conviction, Peters refused to back down from her claims over “vote flipping software.”
Speaking on Steve Bannon’s War Room she vowed to appeal her guilty verdict, saying: “We’re going to continue to fight this in the law.
“And in the meantime, until they either kill me or put me in prison, I’m going to keep speaking out about the injustice, about what’s going on in these big multinational global corporations that have this vote flipping software.”
During her Tuesday rant, Peters claimed that the jury during her trial was shielded from critical evidence that could have exonerated her.
"The jury was prevented from hearing real evidence and hearing real witnesses,” she said, adding that the introduction of several key witnesses, such as forensic experts and whistleblowers, was obstructed by the court.
During her March trial, prosecutors said the clerk became “fixated” on voting problems after becoming involved with individuals who had questioned the results of the 2020 election.
Defense attorneys for Peters argued that she hadn’t committed any crimes and had only wanted to preserve election records after the county declined to let one of its technology experts be present at the software update.
She intended to preserve records to access the voting system to find out whether anyone from “China or Canada” had tapped into the machine as ballots were counted, attorneys said.
Peters is the first prosecution of a local election worker over a security breach pertaining to the election’s results, causing concerns that a rogue clerk could theoretically manipulate results from within their own systems.
Peters’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for 3 October where she could face multiple years in prison.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments