Colorado elections clerk indicted over ‘deceptive’ voting breach scheme

A Colorado grand jury indicted a local election clerk Wednesday, accusing her of taking part in a “deceptive scheme” to breach voting technology during the 2020 election.

Tina Peters, who oversees elections in Mesa County, was charged with 10 counts, including attempting to influence a public servant and criminal impersonation, The Associated Press reported.

The indictment alleged that Peters and Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley “devised and executed a deceptive scheme” and assisted in providing confidential information to unauthorized individuals, the AP reported.

“Yesterday, the Mesa County grand jury returned an indictment after the presentation of evidence in an ongoing investigation into the alleged election system breach in Mesa County,” District Attorney Dan Rubinstein (R) and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) said in a statement. “The grand jury, randomly selected from the same pool of citizens that elected Clerk Tina Peters and chosen months before any of these alleged offenses occurred, concluded there is probable cause that Clerk Peters and Deputy Clerk Knisley committed crimes.”

“This investigation is ongoing, and other defendants may be charged as we learn more information,” Rubinstein and Weiser added. “We remind everyone that these are allegations at this point and that they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) filed a lawsuit against Peters last year, calling for the elections clerk to be stripped of her authority after confidential information related to voting machines was discovered online.

Peters at the time was accused of bringing a “nonemployee” to a meeting between county and state officials where voting machine credentials were visible.

Representatives for Peters and Knisley did not immediately respond to the AP’s requests for comment.

The indictment comes after Peters announced last month on former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon’s “War Room” podcast that she would launch a bid for Colorado secretary of State. 

–Updated at 3:20 p.m.