Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted on various charges related to breaching voting data.
Peters was found guilty of having given a man affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell access to the Colorado county’s election systems and for deceiving other officials about the man’s identity. Lindell has pushed unfounded claims that voter systems in 2020 were hacked to hurt former President Donald Trump.
The former clerk was convicted by a jury in Colorado district court in August, receiving her nine-year sentence on Thursday from District Judge Matthew Barrett. During the sentencing hearing, Barrett suggested that Peters had “abused” her position, according to the Associated Press.
“I am convinced you would do it all over again if you could. You’re as defiant as any defendant this court has ever seen,” Barrett said during the hearing. “You are no hero. You abused your position and you’re a charlatan.”
The jury found her guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the secretary of state. She was found not guilty on counts of identity fraud, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and criminal impersonation.
Throughout the process, Peters has maintained her innocence, telling the court during the trial that she “only wanted to serve the people of Mesa County.”
Peters sent a text message to the Washington Examiner last month vowing “There will be an appeal on the state case.”
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Following her conviction in August, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said that the verdict was justice for the violation of trust Peters committed against her fellow Coloradans.
“Today’s verdict is a warning to others that they will face serious consequences if they attempt to illegally tamper with our voting processes or election systems,” Wesier said. “I want to be clear—our elections are safe and fair. In fact, Colorado’s election system is the gold standard of the nation. And make no mistake: my office will continue to protect it.”
Kaelan Deese contributed to this report.
