Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk and supporter of former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to nine years in prison this week in connection to a voting system data scheme.
In August, Peters was found guilty of seven of 10 charges in a 2021 breach of Colorado’s election system. Peters, 68, was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public official; conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation; official misconduct; violation of duty; and failure to comply with an order by the secretary of state.
The jury acquitted her on three other charges: conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, criminal impersonation and identity theft. The trial, which began July 30 with jury selection in Colorado’s solidly Republican Mesa County, where Trump secured nearly 63 percent of the vote in 2020, spanned eight days of testimony. It centered on events from May 2021, when Peters was accused of orchestrating a breach of election security equipment.
Former Colorado County clerk Tina Peters is seen on February 25, 2023, in Hudson, Colorado. On October 3, 2024, Peters was sentenced to 9 years in prison for a voting system data scheme during the 2020 election.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File/AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File
Peters became the first election official charged in connection with a security breach tied to baseless conspiracy theories that widespread voter fraud cost Trump a second term. Peters was convicted for allowing a county security card to be misused, granting access to the Mesa County election system to an individual connected to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. She was also found guilty of deceiving other officials about the man’s identity.
Lindell is a prominent advocate of the false claim that voting machines were manipulated to steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump.
At trial, prosecutors argued that Peters, a Republican, was seeking attention and became “fixated” on alleged voting issues after aligning with individuals who questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election results.
However, throughout the trial, Peters’ defense team attempted to portray her actions as part of her official duties as county clerk. They argued that she was fulfilling her responsibility to preserve election results before a system update. However, this strategy ultimately failed to convince the jury on most counts.
Peters remained unapologetic about her actions following her conviction. In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) following her conviction, Peters accused Dominion Voting Systems, the Colorado-based company that provided her county’s election equipment, along with state election officials’ lawyers, of stealing votes.
“I will continue to fight until the Truth is revealed that was not allowed to be brought during this trial. This is a sad day for our nation and the world. But we WILL win in the end,” she said.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
