Who is Tina Peters, Trump supporter who tried to manipulate the electoral system and who was now convicted
Tina Peters, a denier of Democrat Joe Biden ‘s victory in the 2020 US election, has become the first election official to be found guilty of election interference in the state of Colorado. She is an admirer of Republican Donald Trump and supports the theory that the Republican was the target of fraud.
According to CBS News, the former Mesa County clerk was found guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, breach of duty and failure to comply with the secretary of state’s duties.
Peters, 68, was acquitted of an additional count of identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and one count of identity theft. She pleaded not guilty to all charges in 2022. She will be sentenced on October 3.
What did Tina Peters do?
According to the indictment cited by the AP, Peters used another person’s security badge to grant access to the Mesa County election system to an expert identified as Conan Hayes, an associate of Mike Lindell, and to deceive other officials about that person’s identity.
Peters allowed Hayes to observe the software update and make copies of the hard drive using the security badge of Gerald Wood, a Mesa man.
The former secretary told officials that Hayes, posing as Wood, was working for her.
The woman’s defense argued that Wood was part of the plan, so Peters did not commit a crime. But Wood denied this when she testified during the trial.
The copied hard drive included software developed by Dominion Voting Systems that is used by election offices across the United States. The Colorado-based company has been the subject of conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s defeat, AP reports.
Lindell is a known promoter of false claims and conspiracy theories that voting machines were rigged to steal the election from Trump, AP notes.
He also donated at least $200,000 to support Peters’ legal defense, according to the New York Times.
The accusation
In the grand jury indictment against him, prosecutors described Peters ’ efforts as “a deceptive scheme that was designed to influence public officials, breach security protocols, exceed permitted access to voting equipment, and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized persons.”
Prosecutors said Peters sought fame and became “obsessed” with voting issues after engaging with those who questioned the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election results, CBS News reports.
In closing arguments at the trial, prosecutor Janet Drake argued that Peters allowed a man posing as a county employee to take images of the election system’s hard drive before and after a software update in May 2021.
“The defendant was a fox guarding the henhouse. Her job was to protect the election equipment, and she turned on him and used his power for her own benefit,” Drake said.
Defense attorney John Case argued that Peters had to preserve records to access the voting system and find out things like whether someone from “China or Canada” had accessed the machine while ballots were being counted.
“And thank God he did. Otherwise, we wouldn’t really know what happened,” he said.
In a statement, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser condemned Peters’ actions, saying, “The freedom to vote is sacred in the United States.
“Today’s verdict is a warning to others that they will face serious consequences if they attempt to illegally manipulate our voting processes or election systems. I want to be clear: our elections are secure and fair,” Weiser said.
“Tina Peters deliberately compromised her own election team in an attempt to expose Trump’s Big Lie,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement.
“Today’s verdict sends a clear message: we will not tolerate any attempt to threaten the security of our elections, which are the gold standard,” he added.
Tina Peters’ reaction
After receiving his verdict, Peters used his social media account X to accuse Dominion Voting Systems, as well as lawyers for state election officials, of stealing votes from Trump.
“I will continue to fight until the truth that was not allowed to be brought to light during this trial is revealed. This is a sad day for our nation and the world, but in the end we will win,” he said.
In June 2022, Tina Peters lost the Republican nomination to be Colorado’s top election official. She was defeated by Pam Anderson.
Colorado conducts its elections primarily by mail, automatically sending a ballot to registered voters. It is considered to have some of the best-organized elections in the United States.
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