DENVER (AP) — An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for an accused Colorado clerk who became a hero to election conspiracy theorists after she allegedly traveled out of state despite a court order not to, according to court documents .
But an attorney for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters asked the judge to lift the order because he said she didn’t know about the order before she traveled to a conference in Las Vegas.
The judge earlier revoked bail and issued a warrant for Peters, who is charged with tampering with voting equipment, after District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said in documents that he learned she had traveled to Nevada for a conference after notarizing certified mail in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The letter, sent to Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold, requested a recount of her unsuccessful primary bid for the Republican nomination in the secretary of state race.
Rubinstein, a Republican, previously said he would not object to Peters traveling outside of Colorado during her campaign for secretary of state. But the election was held on June 28, and court documents say the letter was notarized on July 12. Judge Matthew Barrett issued an order Monday that Peters not travel until the post-election approval process for her travel is resolved.
In a court filing Thursday, Peters’ attorney, Harvey Steinberg, said he didn’t learn about the order in time to warn Peters about it before she left for Las Vegas earlier this week.
She made no attempt to hide her appearance at the conference, which was broadcast live, he said. Steinberg also said Peters is still a candidate for secretary of state, noting the election results have not yet been certified.
Peters repeated former President Donald Trump’s false theories about the 2020 election. She and her chief deputy, Belinda Knisley, are being prosecuted for allowing a hard drive copy to be made during a May 2021 election equipment update A former employee in her office, Sandra Brown, was arrested this week and is now also accused of being part of the scheme.
Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, breach of duty and failure to comply of the Secretary of State.
Both Peters and Nicely have denied wrongdoing, with Peters calling the allegations politically motivated.
Brown, the former elections manager in Peter’s office, was charged Thursday with attempting to influence a public official, criminal impersonation and conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation.
According to a court document, Knisley worked to get a security badge for a man Peters said he employs in the clerk’s office. Peters then used it to allow another unauthorized person in the room to make a hard drive copy of the election equipment, the release said. Brown was present when the copy was made and conspired to misrepresent who the person using the badge was, the release said.
Efforts to reach Brown for comment were unsuccessful through phone numbers that may be associated with her. Court records do not list an attorney speaking on her behalf.
Mesa County, in western Colorado, is mostly rural and heavily Republican. Trump won it in the 2020 presidential election with nearly 63% of the vote. President Joe Biden won Colorado overall with 55.4% of the state’s vote.
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