Election-denying Colorado official convicted of 3 felonies linked to conspiracy theories

A 12-person Colorado jury convicted a former Republican county clerk of seven criminal charges Monday including felony attempt to influence a public servant, earmarking another conviction tied to post-2020 election conspiracy theories.

Election denier Tina Peters, 68, was indicted in March 2022 after prosecutors said she improperly permitted someone to copy access passwords and other files from a secure voting system and post them online, exposing the machines to hackers.

Following a nearly two-week trial before Judge Matthew Barrett in Denver, prosecutors said jurors found Peters guilty of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. She was also convicted of first-degree official misconduct, failure to comply with an order from the Secretary of State and violation of duty − all misdemeanor charges.

Jurors acquitted the former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder from western Colorado of criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and identity theft.

"This community has suffered greatly from the dishonesty, lack of transparency and refusal of Ms. Peters to take accountability," Mesa County District Attorney Daniel P. Rubinstein told USA TODAY early Tuesday morning. "Our system of government is based upon checks and balances, and no single elected official, or even branch of government, is above the law or should be allowed to act without those checks and balances."

"Many thanks to Attorney General Phil Weiser for lending some of the finest prosecutors and investigators to us and his staff for being willing to be sworn in under my authority," the head district attorney said. "They along with the talented members of my office assured a successful prosecution."

Tina Peters: 1st election official to be charged with election security breach

Peters, the first election official to be charged with a security breach after the 2020 presidential election regarding unfounded conspiracy theories, declined to take the stand during the trial, which Rubinstein said began July 31.

One year before her indictment, Peters appeared in South Dakota at My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell’s "bizarre election security symposium" where files from the Mesa County election system were displayed onscreen, the Detroit Free-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network previously reported .

According to prosecutors, Peters stole a Mesa County employee’s security badge to help a man Lindell was acquainted with gain access to the county's voter systems to help Lindell’s false conspiracies about the validity of the 2020 election results .

During closing arguments, prosecutor Janet Drake − a senior assistant attorney general in the Special Prosecutions Unit at the Colorado Attorney General's office − told jurors Peters permitted a man "posing as a county employee to take copies of the election system’s hard drive before and after a software upgrade in May 2021," KRAK-TV reported.

Drake, the outlet reported, argued Peters was “fixated on a desire to be a hero and to impress Lindell."

The prosecutors told jurors Peters met with out-of-state co-conspirators in April 2021, had surveillance cameras turned off in May that same year and was involved in "the use of disposable phones, and the use of the encrypted Signal platform and non-county emails," Colorado Newsline reported. Drake also said how after learning an investigation had been launched, Peters “dropped the F-bomb, and said many times that she was going to jail.”

Her defense attorney, John Case, argued during his closing statement that Peters committed no crimes but acted merely to protect election records.

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Tina Peters faces prison during sentencing scheduled for October

The former Republican Secretary of State candidate for Colorado, who party officials asked to suspend campaigning until her case is resolved, is set for sentencing Oct. 3, court records show.

Peters faces two to six years in prison on her three guilty counts of attempt to influence a public servant and up to 18 months in prison on her guilty conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation conviction, Rubinstein said.

She also faces up to a year in prison on each misdemeanor guilty count.

“This case was a simple case centered around the use of deceit to commit a fraud,” Colorado Public Radio reported Robert Shapiro, a special deputy district attorney for the 21st Judicial District Attorney's Office, told the jury during his portion of closing arguments Monday. “It's not about computers, it's not about election records, it's about using deceit to trick and manipulate others, specifically public servants who were simply trying to do their job.”

'Stealing their votes': Peters blames Colorado-based voting system, attorneys

After the verdict, in a post on X, Peters accused Dominion Voting Systems , and Secretary of State attorneys officials of "stealing their votes."

The company, based in Colorado , created Mesa County's election system.

“I will continue to fight until the Truth is revealed that was not allowed to be brought during this trial. This is a sad day for our nation and the world. But we WILL win in the end,” Peters wrote. "Keep the faith and continue to pray."

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Peter's co-defendant takes plea deal, testifies against her

Peters' deputy clerk, Belinda Knisley, was also charged by the grand jury, according to the indictment.

In August 2022, court records show, Knisley pleaded guilty to trespassing, first-degree official misconduct and violation of duty, all misdemeanor charges.

According to the court document, in the spring of 2021 the pair conspired to turn off security cameras in the room where voting machines were stored, improperly granted access to an outside observer by stealing someone else's identity, and refused give documents and records to state elections officials who were investigating the possible breach.

Belinda Knisley by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

The scheme took place during what "was supposed to be a secure trusted build software update by state officials, USA TODAY previously reported .

"Beginning in April 2021 and in advance of the May 25-26, 2021, trusted build, Tina Peters and Belinda Knisley either as principal actors and or acting as complicators devised and executed a deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment, and set in motion eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people," the indictment reads.

The duo, the indictment continues, pretended to hire an IT consultant, used his name and Social Security number to pass a background check and acquire a security clearance and access badge, and then gave that badge to an as-yet-unidentified person so they could enter the secure room where the machines were stored. They also told the normal county elections supervisor that the unidentified person would be taking her place and barred her from watching what they did.

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Belinda Knisley admitted 'she participated in scheme'

According to a plea agreement in which she agreed to testify against Peters, Knisley admitted she participated in a scheme with Peters "and other identified people to deceive public servants from both the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and Mesa County.”

Represented by attorneys Roy Shannon and R. Scott Reisch, Barrett sentenced Knisley to two years of unsupervised probation and 150 hours of community service. She is also banned permanently from working in elections, court records show.

The scheme, "significantly directed by Tina Peters, ultimately permitted an unauthorized individual to gain access to secure areas inside the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s Office," court papers show, and go on to say Knisley said Peters recorded proceedings during a hearing for Knisley then lied to the judge about doing so, "including acknowledging to Ms. Knisley that she lied.”

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Fired elections manager Sandra Brown also took plea deal in scheme

In April, Barrett sentenced fired Mesa County Elections Manager Sandra Brown to 30 days in jail to be followed by two years of probation for her role in helping Peters in the security voting equipment breach.

Under Brown's plea deal, she also agreed to testify against Peters , and was required to participate in 100 hours of community service.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes and Randy Essex with The Detroit Free-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election-denying Colorado official convicted of 3 felonies linked to conspiracy theories