Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk and outspoken proponent of the conspiracy theory alleging widespread ballot fraud in the 2020 election, has been sentenced to nine years in prison as of Thursday.
At 68, Peters was found guilty in August of several charges, including attempts to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty, and failure to comply with state election regulations.
During sentencing, U.S. Judge Matthew Barrett delivered a sharp critique of Peters, stating, “You are no hero. You’re a charlatan who used your office to peddle snake oil that’s been repeatedly proven false.” He further asserted, “Your lies are well documented, and I’m convinced you’d do it all over again if you could.”
Following the sentencing, Tina Peters was taken into custody immediately after the judge rejected her lawyer’s request for probation. Prosecutors had initially sought the maximum sentence of 20 years, but Peters ultimately received nine years.
The charges stemmed from Peters’ involvement in a breach of her county’s voting system. She was accused of using another person’s security badge to grant unauthorized access to Mesa County’s election system. The individual involved reportedly had ties to Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a prominent supporter of the claim that Trump lost due to ballot fraud.
Peters had also made unfounded accusations against Dominion Voting Systems, the company responsible for the election equipment used in Mesa County, alleging it was part of a scheme to manipulate the election against Trump.
Judge Barrett emphasized the severity of Peters’ actions, describing her as “as defiant a defendant as this court has ever seen,” highlighting the significant threat her actions posed to the integrity of the electoral process.