Pro-Trump local official under investigation announces bid for Colorado secretary of state
By Fredreka Schouten, CNN
Tina Peters, the embattled county clerk in Mesa County, Colorado, said Monday she is running for secretary of state.
“Colorado deserves a secretary of state who will stand up to the Biden administration that wants to run our country into the ground with nationalized elections,” Peters, a Republican, said in a statement.
Peters, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, has been under investigation by the FBI and others for her alleged involvement in a security breach of the Mesa County election system last year.
Last month, the district attorney’s office and the Colorado attorney general announced a grand jury investigation into the alleged breach. Peters has defended her actions, claiming she conducted a backup of the voting system to preserve records.
Despite maintaining that she had done nothing illegal, Peters was stripped of her duties overseeing the county’s elections last November. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has filed a lawsuit to prevent Peters from overseeing the 2022 elections.
Griswold, a Democrat, is up for reelection this year. After Peters’ announcement on Monday, Griswold tweeted that Peters “is unfit to be Secretary of State and a danger to Colorado elections.” She also asked for donations “to make sure we can win this race.”
Last week, Peters turned herself in to Mesa County authorities and was booked for allegedly obstructing a peace officer and obstructing government operations. According to a police affidavit from the Grand Junction Police Department, Peters was not cooperating with investigators from the district attorney’s office as they tried to seize an iPad sought in a search warrant.
During an appearance Monday on the “War Room” podcast hosted by Trump ally Steve Bannon, Peters called herself “the wall between your vote and nationalized elections.”
“They are coming after me because I am standing in their way of truth, transparency and elections held closest to the people,” she added.
The Colorado primary is on June 28.
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CNN’s Jeremy Harlan, Ashley Killough, Sara Murray and Jeff Simon contributed to this story.
