Former Mesa County Clerk & Recorder Tina Peters files new lawsuit ahead of court date

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters is suing the State of Colorado as well as some federal officials. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, alongside US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein are named in the suit.

It’s an attempt to halt any criminal investigation or prosecution related to her conduct in the aftermath of the 2020 election. As reported by the Denver Post, the lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in Denver on Monday.

The complaint alleges that government officials violated her constitutional rights by investigating her alleged misconduct as an election official.

The lawsuit comes just months before Peters is scheduled to stand trial in Mesa County. Peters is accused of ten state-level charges, including several felony charges. Prosecutors accused Peters of allegedly allowing an ill-gotten copy of the voting machine’s hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment. She claims that she was searching for proof of the conspiracy theory that President Joe Biden won the election illegitimately and violated no laws.

Prosecutors allege that Peters helped steal the identity of a local man, and smuggled election conspiracy theorist Conan Hayes into the election offices under the name and credentials of said local man.

The ten state counts Peters is accused of include attempting to influence a public servant, identity theft, criminal impersonation, and conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, all felonies. The misdemeanor charges include first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with requirements set by the secretary of state.

Peters pleaded not guilty, and contends that the charges are politically motivated.

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