DETROIT — A Michigan activist who promoted false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and once live-streamed a protest outside Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's home has begun working in the Macomb County clerk's office.
The hiring of Genevieve Peters in an office that helps administer local elections has some Democrats in the battleground county concerned ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm vote. But Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, a Republican, defended Peters, who he said was brought on around May.
"We had a position for a trainer," Forlini said in an interview. "Several people applied. I wasn’t part of the interview process or the hiring process. She came out on top, head and shoulders above anyone else."
Forlini said Peters had past election experience, wouldn't be directly working on administering the upcoming election and has been a fantastic employee.
Peters declined to answer questions from The Detroit News on Wednesday. Asked if she was still a supporter of the "Stop the Steal" movement, which claimed without substantiation that fraud caused Trump's loss in 2020, she responded, "Have a beautiful day." She then hung up on a reporter.
In December 2020, in the weeks after the November 2020 presidential election, she live-streamed a demonstration, which took place at dark, outside Benson's home. Protesters chanted "Stop the Steal," "We want an audit now," "Legal votes only" and "Forensic audit" on megaphones, according to videos.
"We were folks that wanted our voice heard," Peters told the "Unblocked" podcast in December 2020.
The protest drew national attention amid a national push by Trump supporters to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Benson said the demonstration occurred as she and her family had finished decorating for Christmas and her 4-year-old son was about to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Peters was also present in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, for protests that spiraled out of control leading to a riot at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers attempted to count electoral votes to sign off on Biden's victory, according to multiple media outlets.
“When you don’t give us a pathway, you leave us no out, no way but to show up at your doorstep,” she told Talking Points Memo. “That’s the kind of thing that has to happen in order for us to get our voice. How sad is that in America?”
In addition, Peters participated in a "Stop the Steal" rally in Lansing in the days after the November 2020 election.
"There is no way that anybody else but President Donald Trump won by a landslide,” Peters told WLNS, a Lansing-based TV station.
Biden won Michigan's 2020 election by 3 percentage points or 154,000 votes. The result has been upheld by a series of court rulings, bipartisan canvassing boards, more than 200 audits and an investigation by the GOP-controlled state Senate Oversight Committee.
Mike Radtke, a Democrat and Sterling Heights City Council member, said Peters should be let go immediately by the Macomb County clerk's office.
"She has no business working in a county clerk's office," Radtke said.
Macomb County is Michigan's third largest county. Trump won it in both 2016 and 2020. However, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer claimed Macomb by 3 percentage points in her race in 2018.
On Peters working in the county clerk's office, Jake Rollow, spokesman for the Secretary of State's office, said election officials and their staff members have the right to their own personal political views, but the law requires they administer elections in a nonpartisan manner.
"The Department of State will not tolerate any breach of these laws and will seek full accountability for anyone who abuses their authority or interferes with the integrity of our elections," Rollow said.
Forlini said Peters would be working as a trainer for elections and other issues internally, examining materials the county clerk's office uses. He mentioned the example of videos on how to fix jammed machines.
She's done an incredible job, Forlini said.
"She doesn’t bring any personal opinions into the office," he said.
Multiple local clerks in Macomb County said they had heard from Peters in her role at the county level. Roseville Clerk Jennifer Zelmanski declined to comment on Peters, adding that she didn't respond to emails Peters had recently sent her.
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(Detroit News staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed to this report.)
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