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Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to 9 years for main a safety breach of her county’s election system after being impressed by false and baseless claims of voting fraud.
Peters was convicted for giving a person affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, an ally of former President Donald Trump, entry to the election software program she used for her county. Screenshots of the software program appeared on right-wing web sites.
She was discovered responsible of most costs of election tampering and misconduct.
“Your lies are nicely documented, and these convictions are severe,” District Choose Matthews Barrett mentioned. “I am satisfied you’ll do it yet again should you might. You are as defiant as a defendant as this Court docket has by no means seen.”
“There are lots of issues in my thoughts which are crystal clear about this case, you might be no hero,” Barrett added. “You abused your place, and you are a charlatan who used and remains to be utilizing your prior place in workplace to hawk a snake oil that is been confirmed to be junk, time and time once more.”
Barrett known as the harm executed by Peters to undermine the integrity of elections “immeasurable.”
Earlier than being sentenced, Peters took the stand to ask for probation, and advised the choose she “by no means did something with malice” and believed she was serving the folks in Mesa County.
Candidate Tina Peters speaks throughout a debate for the state management place, Feb. 25, 2023, in Hudson, Colo.
David Zalubowski/AP
“I am not a felony and I do not deserve to enter a jail the place different folks have dedicated heinous crimes,” Peters mentioned.
The previous Mesa County clerk, who gave a prolonged and emotional speech, advised the choose she could be prepared to not speak about elections anymore if sentenced to probation.
“I actually am remorseful,” she mentioned.
Peters turned a number one determine fueling false and baseless conspiracy theories about election fraud after the 2020 election. Since then, Peters has held numerous election denial occasions with Lindell.
“I got here to Colorado in the present day as a result of you might have right here in Colorado the important thing to the entire nation,” Lindell mentioned in 2022, “since you had an ideal county clerk, Tina Peters, (who) did her job.”
Lindell has not been charged within the case.
Throughout Thursday’s listening to, election denier Douglas Frank, a Lindell affiliate, mentioned Peters was amongst many election officers who have been “understandably involved” in regards to the 2020 election.
“Tina Peters is not any conspirator, Tina Peters is a patriot,” Frank mentioned.
Matt Crane, the chief director of the Colorado County Clerks Affiliation, testified that Peters’ actions have led on to loss of life threats towards election officers within the state.
“We have seen very long time clerks select retirement as a result of flames that Tina has willfully fanned,” Crane mentioned.
“These folks have had their jobs made immeasurably tougher by what Tina Peters did and her ongoing efforts to gas the machine that continues to unfold lies and disinformation,” Crane mentioned.
“However most significantly, her actions have contributed to thousands and thousands of Individuals creating a mistrust of their election for no cause,” he added.
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