Mesa County Clerk and Colorado Republican Secretary of State candidate Tina Peters reacts to an early election return during a preliminary night watch party at Wide Open Saloon on June 28, 2022 in Sedalia, Colorado.
Mark Piscotti | Getty Images
Tina PetersA former Colorado county official who supported a false conspiracy theory that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election due to voter fraud was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for charges related to violations of the county’s voting system. .
“You are not a hero,” state District Judge Matthew Barrett told Peters. “You are a charlatan who used, and is still using, your previous position to peddle snake oil that has proven to be junk time and time again.”
“Your lies are well documented and these convictions are serious. “I’m sure you would do it all over again if you could,” Barrett told the former Mesa County clerk.
“You are the most defiant defendant this court has ever seen.”
Peters, who had applied for probation, told the judge before he was sentenced, “I have never maliciously broken any laws. I just wanted to serve the people of Mesa County.” ” he said.
Prosecutors had asked for Barrett to be sentenced to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
She was quickly taken into custody after Barrett refused her lawyer’s request to be released.
Peters, 68, was found guilty by a trial jury in August of seven charges, including attempted influence on a public official, conspiracy to commit identity theft, breach of duty and failure to comply with Secretary of State requirements.
Former Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters looks on during a trial Friday, March 3, 2023, in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Scott Crabtree | AP
She is accused of using someone else’s security badge to allow someone else to access the county’s election system.
The person who used the badge was Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow and a leading proponent of the claim that President Trump’s second term loss was due to voter fraud. It had something to do with it.
Peters had falsely accused Dominion Voting Systems, which developed Mesa County’s election system, of participating in an alleged plot against President Trump.
