Tina Peters, the Republican former county clerk and right-wing folk hero, was found guilty Monday on four of seven felony counts against her, and guilty of all three misdemeanor counts. The charges related to one of the most significant election security breaches in recent years.

Peters, who declined to testify at trial, is the former clerk and recorder of Mesa County, Colorado, which is home to Grand Junction and around 150,000 people. She became a cause célèbre for the nationwide election denial movement after she was indicted in relation to the security breach ― maintaining that the breach occurred while she was trying to investigate Dominion voting machines, and that her actions were legal.

The jury reached the verdict after about four hours of deliberation Monday. Peters was not taken into custody at the courthouse but rather instructed to report to a probation officer by noon Tuesday.

She’ll face a sentencing hearing on Oct. 3. Based on the verdict, Peters could face anywhere from 7¾ to 22½ years in prison, according to Marshall Zelinger, a reporter at KUSA-TV in Denver.

“Tina Peters willfully compromised her own election equipment trying to prove Trump’s Big Lie,” Jena Griswold, Colorado’s Democratic secretary of state, said in a statement reacting to the verdict.

“She has been found guilty of 4 felonies and 3 misdemeanors by a jury of her peers and will now face the consequences of her actions. Today’s verdict sends a clear message: we will not tolerate any effort to threaten the security of our gold standard elections. I am proud that justice for Colorado voters has been served today.”

Tina Peters, a former Colorado Republican county clerk who espoused the false conspiracy theory that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election due to ballot fraud, was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for crimes related to a breach of her county’s voting system. “You are no hero,” state District Court Judge Matthew Barrett told Peters. “You’re a charlatan who used and is still using your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again.” “Your lies are well documented, and these convictions are serious. I’m convinced you’d do it all over again if you could,” Barrett told the 68-year-old former Mesa County clerk, who was accused of using another person’s security badge to allow someone else to gain access to her county’s election system.

The person who used that badge was affiliated with Mike Lindell, the CEO of My Pillow and a leading proponent of the claim that Trump’s defeat for a second term was due to ballot fraud. “You’re as defiant a defendant as this court has ever seen,” Barrett told Peters. Peters, who had requested probation, told the judge before being sentenced, “I’ve never done anything with malice to break the law. I’ve only wanted to serve the people of Mesa County.” Mesa County District Attorney Daniel Rubenstein told Barrett that, “Ms. Peters has demonstrated repeatedly that she does not think she did anything wrong.” “She submitted a statement to the court in the pre-sentence investigation report, giving excuses, giving justifications, but never once acknowledging that she did something wrong, that this was not the way to handle this,” Rubenstein said.

“What does every 12-step program start with? It starts with acknowledging you have a problem, and she has not done that, and there’s no purpose in rehabilitation for somebody who does not think they did anything wrong.” Peters was immediately taken into custody after Barrett rejected her lawyer’s request that she remain free. Peters was convicted by a trial jury in August of seven criminal counts, including attempt to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty, and failure to comply with secretary of state requirements.

Wino wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2024 9:50 am There are at least 20+ states that have same MAGA type people in charge of certifying votes. While I'm hopeful this traitor gets a long jail sentence, it will not deter these scumbags. November 2024 will be one to remember.

A rural Colorado county courthouse beefed up security Friday after threats were made against staff and a judge who sentenced former county clerk Tina Peters to nearly nine years behind bars and admonished her for her role in a data breach scheme catalyzed by the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. Courthouse staff in Grand Junction, Colorado, received multiple threats that were being vetted by law enforcement while extra security was provided, said spokesperson Wendy Likes with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.

She did not say how many threats were made or how they were received. She also declined to describe the extra security. The court received compliments as well as threats for Judge Matthew Barrett’s sentencing of Peters, Will Sightler, the court executive of the 21st Judicial District, said in a statement Friday. He didn't elaborate on what the compliments said. Peters, a Republican, was sentenced Thursday for allowing access to the county's election system to a man affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell — a prominent promoter of false claims that voting machines were manipulated to steal the election.