Mesa County, Colorado 10/3/2024
Tina Peters, the former county clerk of Mesa County, Colorado, was sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of tampering with voting machines under her control in a failed attempt to prove that they had been used to rig the 2020 election against former President Donald J. Trump.
Peters, who has publicly maintained that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump, allowed an associate of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell unauthorized access to the election equipment in 2022.
This action led to her conviction on multiple charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and violation of duty. During her sentencing hearing, Peters expressed her dismay over the portrayal of her actions throughout the trial. 
Peters consistently promoted false claims regarding Trump’s defeat, which ultimately led her to gain notoriety among those who refused to accept the legitimacy of his loss. Peters was found liable for security breaches of voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems. After Mr. Trump’s defeat to Joseph R. Biden Jr., pro-Trump activists across the country sought to gain access to Dominion machines, hoping to prove they had been used in a plot to flip votes from Mr. Trump to Mr. Biden.
Peters went on a tangent about how the district attorney who had filed the charges against her was somehow implicated in a plot to get her ailing husband to divorce her. The Grand Junction, Colorado, Judge Matthew D. Barrett, in a burst of annoyance, cut her off stating, “You cannot help but lie as easy as you breathe.” “You are no hero, you abused your position, and you are a charlatan,” Judge Barrett said.
Despite her pleas for leniency, citing health issues that required her to sleep on a “magnetic mattress,” District Judge Matthew Barrett was not persuaded. He ultimately imposed a sentence of eight-and-a-half years, in addition to time already served. Judge Barrett made it clear that he did not support Peters’ claims of election fraud, expressing frustration when she suggested that he might secretly agree with her conspiratorial views.
He firmly stated, “Whatever [the machine] tabulates, is whatever it tabulates,” rejecting the notion that he believed the 2020 election results were manipulated. His remarks highlighted the seriousness of Peters’ actions and the legal consequences she now faces.