Colorado court administrators are investigating threats against district court judges and staff after former Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters was convicted this week in an election case.
District Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced Peters to nine years in prison Thursday, criticizing her for pushing discredited claims about fraudulent voting machines in the 2020 presidential election. After the verdict, court officials received both praise and threats, leading to increased security at the courthouse.
“We have received threats and praise for Judge Barrett's decision to sentence Tina Peters,” 21st Judicial District Court Executive Will Sightler told the Colorado Sun. statement.
“We are currently reviewing the matter and will take appropriate measures as necessary,” he added.
The nature of these episodes remains unclear.
Peters was found guilty of four felonies in August after a criminal trial. Prosecutors argued that she stole a county employee's security badge to help a man connected to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell gain access to the county voting system. All were intended to support Lindell's false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Prosecutors say Peters, once a hero of election deniers, became “obsessed” with voting issues after associating with people who questioned the legitimacy of the election.
In 2022, Mr. Peters lost the primary election in August 2022 and retained his position.
“It's just more lies,” the judge said while criticizing Peters this week. “No objective person would believe them. No, at the end of the day, you cared about the jet, the podcast, and the people you were flying with.”
