Pro-Trump official sentenced to 9 years in prison for election system data fraud

Tina Peters, a former county clerk in Colorado and supporter of former President Donald Trump, was sentenced this week to nine years in prison in connection with a voting system data scheme.

In August, Peters was found guilty on seven of 10 counts stemming from a 2021 violation 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; breach of duty; and failure to comply with an order of the Secretary of State.

The jury acquitted her on three additional counts: conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, criminal impersonation and identity theft. The trial, which began July 30 with jury selection in Colorado’s heavily Republican Mesa County, where Trump won nearly 63 percent of the vote in 2020, spanned eight days of testimony. The focus was on events from May 2021, when Peters was accused of orchestrating a breach of election security equipment.

Peters was the first election official to be charged in connection with a security breach tied to baseless conspiracy theories that widespread voter fraud cost Trump a second term. Peters was convicted of allowing the misuse of a county security card to provide access to the Mesa County voting system to a person associated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. She was also found guilty of deceiving other officers about the man’s identity.

Lindell is a prominent proponent of the false claim that voting machines were rigged to steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump.

At trial, prosecutors argued that Peters, a Republican, was attention-seeking and “fixated” on alleged voting problems after aligning himself with people 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 it was failing in its responsibility to preserve the election results before a system update. However, this strategy ultimately failed to convince the jury on most points.

Peters did not apologize for her actions after her conviction. In a post on the social media platform

“I will continue to fight until the truth is revealed that was not allowed to be revealed during this process. This is a sad day for our nation and the world. But in the end we WILL win,” she said.

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.