A former Colorado county clerk who had become an icon among election deniers was convicted of election interference on Monday for hacking into the county’s voting system.
Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was convicted of four felony counts after a lengthy criminal trial. She was acquitted of three misdemeanors.
Prosecutors alleged that Peters stole a county employee’s security badge and helped a man with ties to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell access the county’s voting systems and promote Lindell’s false conspiracy about the legitimacy of the 2020 election results.
lastly Trial Prosecutor Janet Drake alleged that Peters allowed a man posing as a county employee to take copies of the election system’s hard drive before and after a May 2021 software upgrade.
Drake argued that Peters was “obsessed” with a desire to be a “hero” and to impress Lindell, one of the most prominent election-denying conspiracy theorists.
“The defendant was the fox guarding the hen house. It was her job to protect election equipment, but she ignored that and used her power for her own gain,” Drake said during the argument. According to the Associated Press.
Peters lost the 2022 primary to retain the clerk position.
Peters is the first local official to be convicted in connection with conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election results, and election analysts have warned that local officials could again play a key role in the 2024 election. Refuse to certify the election results Unless former President Trump wins.
While President Trump has sought to distance himself from conspiracies surrounding the 2020 election, he remains concerned about the upcoming November election, particularly election security.
President Trump and other leading Republicans, including his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), have rejected calls to explicitly say they would accept the results of the November election, saying only that they would do so if the results were “free and fair.”
