Former Colorado clerk Tina Peters was found guilty by a jury on most charges related to a security breach after the 2020 election. She was accused of using someone else’s security badge to give an expert affiliated with Mike Lindell access to the Mesa County election system. Peters had been a hero to election deniers and was seeking fame by becoming involved with those who questioned the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election results.
She was convicted of several charges, including attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, and violating her duty. However, she was found not guilty of identity theft charges. Peters accused Dominion Voting Systems of stealing votes and vowed to continue fighting for the truth.
Prosecutors argued that Peters deceived government employees to work with outsiders affiliated with Lindell, allowing a man to take images of the election system’s hard drive before and after a software upgrade. The defense claimed Peters did not commit any crimes and was only trying to preserve election records after the county refused to provide a technology expert for the software update.
Peters allowed Lindell’s associate to observe the update and make copies of the hard drive using a security badge belonging to a local man. The defense argued that the local man was aware of this scheme, but he denied it during the trial. Prosecutors highlighted inconsistencies in witness testimonies, but the defense maintained that Peters acted in the best interest of preserving election records. The verdict, coming after calls from prosecutors to convict Peters, sends a message that illegal tampering with voting processes will face consequences.
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