Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in search of to halt native, state and federal prison investigations and prosecutions in opposition to her in a safety breach of her county’s election system in 2021.
The 43-page lawsuit was filed in opposition to U.S. Legal professional Basic Merrick Garland, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Mesa County District Legal professional Daniel Rubenstein. It claims their continued investigations into Peters violate her constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of affiliation and proper to petition the federal government to redress her grievances.
The lawsuit comes as Peters is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 7 in Mesa County. A grand jury indicted her in March 2022 on 10 counts stemming from her actions throughout an election software program replace in Might 2021. Peters is dealing with felony and misdemeanor costs, together with trying to affect a public official and prison impersonation.
Belinda Knisley, Peters’ deputy clerk on the time, was additionally indicted within the case. Knisley pleaded responsible in 2022 to 3 misdemeanors and agreed to testify in opposition to Peters.
Peters’ new lawsuit claims she was performing her obligation to protect information as an elections official when she had a marketing consultant make a “forensic picture” of the elections software program earlier than the replace accomplished by Denver-based Dominion Voting Methods. Two months later, passwords used throughout the replace have been posted on-line by a conservative web site.
The lawsuit claims the investigations and prosecutions by state and federal authorities represent retaliation and harassment of Peters.
Rubenstein, a Republican, mentioned Wednesday he hadn’t been served with the lawsuit. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Workplace didn’t instantly return a message in search of remark. Griswold is a Democrat.
Peters, who claims with out proof that the 2020 election was stolen, ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state final 12 months, shedding the Republican main by almost 90,000 votes. She additionally ran unsuccessfully earlier this 12 months to be chair of the Colorado GOP.
Peters was individually sentenced to house detention and group service earlier this 12 months for making an attempt to forestall authorities from seizing an iPad she used to make a prohibited recording of one in all Knisley’s courtroom hearings. The sentence was stayed pending an attraction.Peters was additionally held in contempt of courtroom for making the recording and fined $1,500.
