MESA COUNTY, Colo. — An arrest was issued for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters after a judge determined that she traveled outside Colorado without the Court's permission, which violated her bond conditions.
Peters is under indictment for allegedly taking part in a "deceptive scheme" to breach secure voting equipment.
District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein filed a motion with the court late Wednesday to revoke her bond, citing a condition that she was not allowed to leave the state of Colorado without prior approval, after learning that she traveled to the Las Vegas area.
Rubenstein said they were made aware that Peters spoke at the Constitutional Sheriff's and Peace Officer's Association conference. Rubenstein said they found a video online showing her taking the stage there.
Court records show a warrant was issued for Peters' arrest Thursday for failure to comply. The no bond warrant is active and a spokeswoman with the DA's office said that Las Vegas police have been notified since it's possible Peters is still there.
On July 8, Peters' defense filed a motion for travel and later amended it. At no time, according to Rubenstein's motion, did the defense mention travel dates to occur on July 12 or 13.
On July 11, Rubenstein filed a motion objecting to the travel and the court said it would wait to issue a ruling pending a defense response, which was due by July 15. In the meantime, the court ordered that no travel was to occur until the motion was resolved.
> The travel objection and judge's order are below:
On July 13, Rubenstein wrote that he received an electronic letter from Peters to the Colorado Secretary of State. The letter, which was requesting a recount, was dated the day before and the notary that certified Peters' signature was from a person in Clark County, Nevada.
The letter, according to the motion, appeared to indicate that it was sworn and signed by a person in Colorado but that the notary crossed out Colorado and wrote Clark County, Nevada.
The Colorado Secretary of State's office said they received the formal recount request Thursday morning from Peters regarding the race for Secretary of State. In that race, Pam Anderson defeated Peters in the primary to be named the Republican party nominee.
> The full letter is below:
Late Thursday, Peters filed a motion through her attorney Harvey Steinberg seeking to quash the warrant for her arrest. In that motion, they also asked the Court to hold a hearing and allow Peters and her counsel to appear by WebEx.
Steinberg's motion says that Peters relied on his office to provide travel plans to the Court, and says she emailed them about the travel plans but it was part of a thread and was "not noticed." It goes on to say that Peters did not know about the oversight.
Peters and her deputy, Belinda Knisley, had turned themselves into authorities in March at the county sheriff's department hours after prosecutors released the 13-count grand jury indictment.
Peters faces felony and misdemeanor charges including attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, identity theft and first-degree official misconduct. Knisley, her alleged co-conspirator, is also charged with felonies and misdemeanors.
Just this week, former Mesa County elections manager Sandra Brown was also arrested as part of the election investigation.
The SOS also received a recount request from Ron Hanks, who was hoping to become the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate to face Michael Bennet. He was defeated in the primary last month by Joe O'Dea.
Under state law, in instances where a recount is not required the interested parties must pay for the costs.
“The Secretary of State’s Office has received formal notices requesting a recount from Ron Hanks for the 2022 Republican Primary Election Race for U.S. Senate and Tina Peters for the 2022 Republican Primary Election Race for Secretary of State. The Secretary of State’s Office will follow all the steps required by Colorado Statute regarding any request for a recount," the SOS office said in a statement.
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