A Colorado county clerk who embraced election-fraud conspiracy theories has been indicted on state criminal charges following an investigation into her alleged efforts to secretly copy hard drives from Dominion Voting Systems equipment, officials said Wednesday.
Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (R), who is now seeking the GOP nomination for secretary of state, is accused not of fixing the election but of allegedly breaking the law as she sought to investigate whether someone else did.
Proponents of baseless fraud claims are increasingly seeking local and state roles overseeing elections, and experts are concerned about the risk some could pose as security threats to the nation’s voting systems.
In an 18-page indictment, a county grand jury accused Peters of sneaking someone who was not a county employee into secure areas of her office in May, before and during a manual update of Dominion voting machines known as a “trusted build.”
She has been under investigation since August, when the data copied from Mesa County’s machines surfaced in the hands of conspiracy theorists.
An elections supervisor embraced conspiracy theories. Officials say she has become an insider threat.
Peters was charged Tuesday evening with 10 counts, seven of them felonies. They include conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and attempting to influence a public servant, stemming in part from her allegedly attempting to deceive state elections officials.
Her deputy, Belinda Knisley, was also indicted. “We certainly thank the grand jurors for their work. As you know, a grand jury does not receive all the evidence in the case,” Knisley’s lawyer, R. Scott Reisch, told The Washington Post. “Only the evidence the district attorney believes favors their case is presented. We look forward for all the evidence being considered by a jury.”
Neither Peters nor her attorney immediately responded to messages seeking comment.
Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (R), who is now seeking the GOP nomination for secretary of state, is accused not of fixing the election but of allegedly breaking the law as she sought to investigate whether someone else did.
Proponents of baseless fraud claims are increasingly seeking local and state roles overseeing elections, and experts are concerned about the risk some could pose as security threats to the nation’s voting systems.
In an 18-page indictment, a county grand jury accused Peters of sneaking someone who was not a county employee into secure areas of her office in May, before and during a manual update of Dominion voting machines known as a “trusted build.”
She has been under investigation since August, when the data copied from Mesa County’s machines surfaced in the hands of conspiracy theorists.
An elections supervisor embraced conspiracy theories. Officials say she has become an insider threat.
Peters was charged Tuesday evening with 10 counts, seven of them felonies. They include conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and attempting to influence a public servant, stemming in part from her allegedly attempting to deceive state elections officials.
Her deputy, Belinda Knisley, was also indicted. “We certainly thank the grand jurors for their work. As you know, a grand jury does not receive all the evidence in the case,” Knisley’s lawyer, R. Scott Reisch, told The Washington Post. “Only the evidence the district attorney believes favors their case is presented. We look forward for all the evidence being considered by a jury.”
Neither Peters nor her attorney immediately responded to messages seeking comment.
