Tina Peters, the former clerk of Mesa County, Colorado, and a vocal critic of the 2020 election results, has petitioned the Supreme Court to halt her upcoming trial related to alleged involvement in a security breach at the county's election offices in 2021.
Peters faces 10 state charges, including felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and identity theft, as well as misdemeanor charges for official misconduct and violation of duty. These charges stem from a security breach at Mesa County's elections office in May 2021.
The investigation into Peters' office was initiated after Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold accused Peters and her deputies of facilitating the security breach, which led to confidential voting machine logins and forensic images being leaked on a QAnon-affiliated Telegram channel in August 2021.
Similar incidents of election system tampering by allies of former President Donald Trump have been reported in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania following the 2020 election. Peters' trial is scheduled to commence on July 29, despite her efforts to have the case dismissed.
Peters contends that her actions were in compliance with a federal order to preserve election records and, therefore, she should be immune from prosecution. Her legal team argues that the state indictment is punitive and criminalizes her attempts to fulfill federal obligations.
Having been sentenced to four months of home detention in a separate case in April 2023, Peters is now seeking a stay on her trial to allow for a more comprehensive appeal to the Supreme Court. The court is expected to review her request and may establish a briefing schedule in the near future.
