CO election denier Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years in prison over voting systems breach

Former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday for her role in a 2021 security breach in the elections office she was supposed to oversee.

Peters will spend the next six weeks to six months in the Mesa County Detention Facility before being transferred to the Colorado Department of Corrections, where she will serve her nine-year prison sentence.

21st Judicial District Judge Matthew Barrett opted for a prison sentence, rather than probation, citing the “immeasurable damage” that Peters had done to local elections and trust in the electoral process, her lack of remorse and other factors. Twice during Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Barrett called Peters a “charlatan” who peddled snake oil that has been disproven again and again.

“I’m convinced you’d do it all over again if you could,” Barrett said. “You are a privileged person. You are as privileged as they come. You used that for power and fame.”

Peters is a prominent far-right conspiracy theorist who was accused of breaching Mesa County’s elections systems during a 2021 security update in an attempt to prove debunked claims of election fraud. She served one term as clerk between 2019 and 2023, and mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Colorado secretary of state in 2022, placing second in the Republican primary.

On August 12, a Mesa County jury found her guilty of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one misdemeanor count of official misconduct, one misdemeanor count of violation of duty in elections, and one misdemeanor count of failure to comply with the secretary of state. She was acquitted on two felony counts of criminal impersonation and one count of identity theft.

In a rambling address to the court that lasted more than 40 minutes, Peters had asked the judge for probation, citing her wish to be close to her mother, who lives in Virginia.

“People today are asking for harsh sentences. I feel bad for them,” she said. “God doesn’t like messing with his kids. I’m a child of God.”

She mentioned health problems that can’t be accommodated in prison — such as her need for a magnetic mattress due to past injuries. She said she had lung cancer in 2016, and had surgery to remove half of a lung, and as a result experiences some shortness of breath.

“I am remorseful. I’m asking for leniency,” she said.

Barrett wasn’t buying it, however.

He called Peters’ lies well-documented, and explained that he considers deterrence when deciding a sentence. Noting that she had never completed the certification required of a county clerk, he said she had failed to take her job seriously, had shown no respect for law enforcement and poses a danger to the community.

“You are a charlatan,” Barrett said. “You betrayed your oath.”

In a statement, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Peters had been held accountable for “her dangerous attempts to break into her own election equipment to prove (former President Donald) Trump’s ‘Big Lie.’”

“Colorado’s elections are the nation’s gold standard,” Griswold said. “I am proud of how we have responded to the first insider elections breach in the nation, and look forward to another secure and successful election in November.”

‘A laughingstock’

Prior to Barrett announcing his sentence, five people spoke on behalf of Peters, asking for leniency, while another five spoke in favor of the maximum penalty.

A man who introduced himself as Dave Bryan, pastor of the Church of Glad Tidings in California, suggested that the court release Peters into his custody, or the case “will become even a bigger hairball for the state of Colorado.”

“We offer a solution to you and the State of Colorado to remand her to our custody in California,” Bryan said. “It serves no purpose for Tina Peters to spend a single day in custody.”

Bryan called his proposal a “calm the storm” solution and said that “the storm is just getting started with this sentencing.”

Those speaking against leniency included Gerald Wood, a key witness in the case and the person whose identity Peters used to allow an unauthorized person to enter Mesa County’s secure elections area before and during a computer software update in May 2021. The imposter, Conan Hayes, created images of software hard drives and posted the images to a conspiracy theory website — which prompted an investigation by the Colorado secretary of state.

Wood said Peters put his family in jeopardy when she used his identity, and that he appears to still be under investigation by the FBI. Computer equipment worth $12,000 to $15,000 was seized from the Woods’ home and has not been returned, he said. And, as an independent worker in the software industry, he said it has been difficult to find work due to his name in the national media.

In an emotional address to the court, Wood’s wife, Wendi Wood, said Peters slandered her husband and continued to be “unrepentant” and “callous” toward anyone in authority.

“I’m sickened by the death threats that have been leveled at people (sitting) in this courtroom today,” Wendi Wood said.

Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis, a Republican, spoke next, telling the court that Peters’ actions cost Mesa County $1.4 million. After the investigation was launched Peters continued to receive her salary while she traveled the country, Davis said. She also cost the county by creating distrust in the electoral system — causing the county to conduct a time-consuming and costly hand count of ballots in 2022, which found no material difference between the machine and hand counts, Davis said. The county had to hire a designated election official while Peters was “gallivanting around the country,” Davis said. And extra law enforcement was assigned to the Mesa County Justice Center during Peters’ trial and sentencing, diverting those resources from elsewhere, he added.

As a Grand Valley native, Davis said he was most disturbed that Mesa County’s reputation has taken a hit from being associated with Peters’ actions.

“She’s made a laughingstock of this community,” he said.

Support from election deniers

Speaking up for Peters was national election denier Douglas Frank, who conducted an “elections symposium” in Grand Junction leading up to the security breach in 2021. He said state officials are trying to make an example out of Peters.

“I am uniquely qualified to judge Tina Peters’ state of mind,” Frank said. “It boggles my mind that a Gold Star mother is subjected to this tyranny. I implore you to restore Tina Peters God-given liberty.”

Former Elbert County Clerk and Recorder Dallas Schroeder also spoke in Peters’ defense. Schroeder has faced his own scrutiny from the Colorado secretary of state’s office for collaborating with unauthorized people in 2021 to create copies of voting machine hard drives. He said he voluntarily turned over images to the secretary of state — images he said were taken to prove or disprove problems with Dominion Voting Systems machines.

Claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent or compromised have been debunked by elections officials, experts, media investigations, law enforcement and the courts.

Matt Crane, executive director of the County Clerks Association, spoke of death threats made to election officials and their families as a result of Peters’ actions. He said his own wife and children have been threatened, and the threats and intimidation fueled by Peters’ conspiracy theories have driven thousands of election workers to retire.

“She does not understand the job. She did not attempt to master it. She did not complete the work to be a certified election official,” Crane said. “She deserves the harshest penalty this court can deliver. The only fraudulent activity was orchestrated by Tina Peters.”

Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, who prosecuted the case, told the court that Peters “has not demonstrated any respect for the law.”

“This case is by far is the most aggravated attempt to influence a public servant I ever saw in my career,” Rubinstein said. “It should yield the most aggravated sentence.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in a statement thanked Rubinstein for his “commitment to justice and his collaboration with my office to hold Tina Peters accountable.”

“We place a sacred trust in our elections officials to conduct safe, honest, and fair elections,” Weiser said. “Tina Peters violated her duty as an election official and seriously compromised trust with her fellow Coloradans. Today, the court handed down a fair and just sentence for her criminal acts, which put the safety of our elections — and the freedom and safety of others — at risk.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:16 p.m., Oct. 3, 2024 to include additional details of Thursday’s sentencing hearing.

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