{"id":2316495,"date":"2024-07-31T07:23:59","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T11:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trial-begins-for-colorado-activist-over-2020-voting-data-breach-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-31T07:29:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T11:29:46","slug":"trial-begins-for-colorado-activist-over-2020-voting-data-breach-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trial-begins-for-colorado-activist-over-2020-voting-data-breach-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial begins for Colorado activist over 2020 voting data breach &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrial-begins-for-colorado-activist-over-2020-voting-data-breach-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2316495&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The trial of\u2064 Tina \u2063Peters, \u2063a former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-rules-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-are-illegal\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Are Illegal\">local election clerk<\/a> from Colorado, is set to begin on \u2063Wednesday. Peters faces various charges, including tampering \u2062with\u2062 voting machines\u200b and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/autistic-hacker-who-leaked-grand-theft-auto-6-sentenced-to-life-in-hospital-prison\/\" title=\"Autistic hacker behind &#039;Grand Theft Auto 6&#039; leak gets life in hospital prison\">leaking confidential data<\/a> following the controversial 2020 election. Indicted by a grand\u2063 jury in\u200b March 2022, she denies any wrongdoing and insists her actions stemmed from concerns over the integrity of the election process involving Dominion Voting Systems. The trial, originally \u200dscheduled\u200d for March 2023, has been delayed and is expected \u200bto last about eight days. Prosecutors accuse\u2064 Peters of instructing her deputy\u200d to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/australia-protesters-shout-let-it-burn-as-old-parliament-house-goes-up-in-flames\/\" title=\"Australia: Protesters Shout &#039;Let It Burn&#039; as Old Parliament House Goes Up in Flames\">disable security cameras<\/a> and enabling \u200dunauthorized access to voting machine updates, actions she argues were \u200bdriven by a quest for election transparency. Although an investigation found no \u2064coordinated election fraud, the breach led to significant costs\u2063 for \u200dMesa County due to the\u2063 decertification\u200d of voting machines. Amidst her legal troubles, Peters claims she is being unfairly persecuted and asserts that the trial should focus on broader election integrity issues rather than\u2064 her\u2064 actions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trial begins for Colorado activist over 2020 voting data breach<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1717535\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/colorado-county-clerk-tina-peters-indicted-in-election-security-breach-investigation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Tina Peters<\/a>, a former local Colorado election clerk, will face trial starting Wednesday on charges related to alleged tampering with voting machines and leaking confidential data following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2376637\/colorado-county-clerk-tina-peters-pleads-not-guilty-to-election-system-tampering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2020 election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Peters, a former Mesa County clerk-turned-activist who maintains that she had legitimate concerns about the way the county&rsquo;s 2020 general election was conducted, was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/colorado-county-clerk-tina-peters-indicted-in-election-security-breach-investigation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indicted<\/a>&nbsp;by a grand jury in March 2022. She has denied wrongdoing and stands accused of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jussie-smollett-hate-crime-hoax-goes-to-trial-years-after-soros-backed-d-a-kim-foxx-dropped-charges\/\" title=\"Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax Goes to Trial Years After Soros-Backed D.A. Kim Foxx Dropped Charges\">felony counts related<\/a> to impersonation and identity theft, and three misdemeanor counts for official misconduct.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tina Peters speaks to supporters at her election watch party in Sedalia, Colorado, on June 28, 2022. A judge on Friday, July 15, 2022, canceled an arrest warrant issued for Peters, who has become a hero to election conspiracy theorists. (AP Photo\/Thomas Peipert, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jury selection is slated to begin Wednesday and could last up to two days. The entirety of the trial is expected to last around eight days, according to District Judge Matthew Barrett, who is overseeing the case, the <em>Daily Sentinel <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gjsentinel.com\/news\/western_colorado\/peters-trial-set-to-start-this-week\/article_50c7cd2c-49f4-11ef-b279-97b00bd6f08e.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors claim Peters instructed her deputy clerk to turn off security cameras in May 2021 and facilitated an unauthorized person to observe and photograph a voting machine update. <\/p>\n<p>Peters, who says she acted out of concerns over whether she could trust the Dominion Voting Systems machines in her county, allegedly sent data and passwords to a Florida company, which posted the information online. In a report published in September 2021, an independent cybersecurity firm said it found unusual activity and evidence of deleted voting records.<\/p>\n<p>A subsequent investigation by Colorado 21st District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein found no evidence of coordinated election fraud, but discovered several instances of human error, and found that the omitted records that the private security firm highlighted were not related to the election results.<\/p>\n<p>The security breach caused Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, to decertify voting machines, costing Mesa County over $96,000 for replacements. Peters was later removed from overseeing elections after a lawsuit by Griswold succeeded.<\/p>\n<p>The trial, originally slated for March 2023, has long been delayed and has likewise drawn attention to the broader concern of election security and the possible influence of individuals skeptical of the 2020 election results who held state positions.<\/p>\n<p>Peters has suggested her goal in the trial is to make it less about her alleged actions but instead about her election integrity concerns surrounding the Dominion election equipment used in her county. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya, who is overseeing an open defamation case in Washington, D.C., <a href=\"https:\/\/lawandcrime.com\/lawsuit\/expressly-prohibited-judge-in-dominion-suit-has-abundantly-clear-message-for-kraken-lawyer-and-ex-overstock-ceo-on-tina-peters-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>ruled Monday<\/a> that documents and discovery in that federal case cannot be shared in Peters&rsquo;s trial &ldquo;absent express Court order.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Colorado has since passed the Internal Election Security Measures Act to prevent similar incidents. Despite Peters&rsquo;s legal challenges, she maintains that she is being persecuted and has garnered support from like-minded individuals, including financial backing for her legal defense from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.<\/p>\n<p>Peters previously filed a lawsuit in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-legal-team-for-impeachment-defense-after-previous-team-collapsed\/\" title=\"Trump Announces New Legal Team For Impeachment Defense After Previous Team Collapsed\">federal district court<\/a> in an attempt to halt the criminal trial, and a judge dismissed that suit in January, though Peters is appealing. She also recently sought relief from the Supreme Court to halt her trial, though Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected that effort on July 22.<\/p>\n<p>The former Mesa County Clerk has also been living under home confinement and wearing an ankle monitor after she was sentenced last year in a case that found her guilty of obstructing the government when she attempted to withhold an iPad she used to record a court proceeding, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gjsentinel.com\/news\/western_colorado\/peters-under-home-confinement-wearing-monitor\/article_00bcb0e2-406a-11ef-b160-d3fedae34a64.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>according<\/a> to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Opening statements in the case could begin as early as Thursday or Friday after a jury is seated.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>contacted Peters and her attorney for comment.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1717535\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1717535\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trial Commences for Colorado Activist in 2020 Voting Data Breach Case<\/p>\n<p>Tina Peters, a former election clerk from Mesa County, Colorado, is set to begin her trial on Wednesday. She faces charges linked to alleged tampering with voting machines and the unauthorized release of confidential information after the 2020 election. Peters, who has transitioned into an activist role and claims she had valid concerns regarding the conduct of her county&#8217;s general election that year, was indicted by a grand jury in March 2022. She denies any wrongdoing and is charged with three felony counts for attempting to influence a public servant, four felony counts related to impersonation and identity theft, as well as three misdemeanor counts for official misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>Jury selection is expected to start on Wednesday and may take up to two days. The trial itself could last around eight days according to District Judge Matthew Barrett overseeing the case. Prosecutors allege that Peters directed her deputy clerk to disable security cameras in May 2021 and allowed an unauthorized individual access to observe and photograph updates on voting machines. Peters contends that her actions were motivated by distrust towards Dominion Voting Systems machines used in her county; she allegedly sent sensitive data and passwords to a Florida company that subsequently published this information online.<\/p>\n<p>An independent cybersecurity firm reported unusual activity along with evidence of deleted voting records in September 2021. A subsequent investigation led by Colorado&#8217;s 21st District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein found no proof of coordinated election fraud but did identify several human errors; it also determined that the missing records highlighted by the private firm were unrelated to actual election outcomes. This security breach prompted Secretary of State Jena Griswold\u2014a Democrat\u2014to decertify certain voting machines, resulting in over $96,000 in replacement costs for Mesa County.<\/p>\n<p>Peters was later removed from overseeing elections following a successful lawsuit filed by Griswold against her. The trial has faced multiple delays since it was initially scheduled for March 2023 and has drawn attention toward broader issues concerning election security amid skepticism about the legitimacy of the 2020 results among some state officials.<\/p>\n<p>Peters aims for this trial not only to address allegations against herself but also highlight concerns regarding electoral integrity tied specifically to Dominion equipment used within her jurisdiction. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya ruled recently that documents from an ongoing defamation case cannot be shared during Peters&#8217; trial without explicit court permission.<\/p>\n<p>In response to similar incidents moving forward, Colorado has enacted the Internal Election Security Measures Act since then. Despite facing legal challenges\u2014including previous attempts at halting this criminal trial\u2014Peters asserts she is being unfairly targeted while receiving support from individuals like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne who have contributed financially towards her defense.<\/p>\n<p>Previously dismissed attempts at stopping this criminal proceeding included filing lawsuits at federal district court level which are currently under appeal after being rejected earlier this year; additionally seeking intervention from Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch resulted unfavorably when he denied relief on July 22nd . Currently under home confinement wearing an ankle monitor due sentencing last year related obstruction charges involving withholding evidence during another court proceeding , opening statements could commence as soon as Thursday or Friday once jurors are selected<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2316496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/TINA-PETERS-TRIAL.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32675,5327,6024,4853,36750],"class_list":["post-2316495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-2020-election","tag-activist","tag-colorado","tag-trial","tag-voting-data"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/TINA-PETERS-TRIAL.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}