Former Colorado clerk Tina Peters convicted in election interference case

A former county clerk in Colorado who had become an icon among election deniers was convicted of election interference Monday for a breach of her county’s voting systems.

Tina Peters, the former clerk of Mesa County, was found guilty of four felonies after a lengthy criminal trial. She was cleared of three lesser charges.

Prosecutors alleged Peters stole a county employee’s security badge to help a man associated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell gain access to the county’s voter systems to assist Lindell’s false conspiracies about the validity of the 2020 election results.

In the trial’s closing arguments, prosecutor Janet Drake argued Peters allowed a man posing as a county employee to take copies of the election system’s hard drive before and after a software upgrade in May 2021. 

Drake argued Peters was “fixated” on a desire to be a “hero” and to impress Lindell, one of the most notable election-denying conspiracy theorists.

“The defendant was a fox guarding the henhouse. It was her job to protect the election equipment, and she turned on it and used her power for her own advantage,” Drake said in arguments, according to The Associated Press.

Peters lost her 2022 primary to keep the clerk post.

Peters is the first local official to be convicted related to conspiracy theories surrounding 2020 election results. Election analysts have raised warnings that local officials may again play a key role in the 2024 election, refusing to certify election results if former President Trump does not win.

While Trump has attempted to distance himself from 2020 election conspiracies, he has continued to leave open concerns about the upcoming November election, specifically surrounding election security. 

Trump and other top Republicans — including his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) — have refused calls to outright affirm that they will accept the results of the November election, only saying they will do so if the results are “free and fair.”