July 24th 2024.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that could have significant consequences for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. Peters had made an emergency request to the court in hopes of halting her criminal case, just two weeks before her trial was set to begin in Grand Junction.
Peters is facing seven felony charges, including attempting to influence a public servant and criminal impersonation. These charges stem from allegations that she allowed a contractor to make a copy of an election computer's hard drive during a software update in 2021. This was apparently done as part of her search for evidence to support conspiracy theories promoted by former President Donald Trump about the 2020 election.
In her quest to stop her criminal case, Peters had filed a federal lawsuit in November against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and 21st Judicial District Attorney Dan Rubinstein. However, the case was dismissed in January and her request for an emergency appeal was denied by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in February. The district court's ruling was then affirmed on June 21, according to court records.
Peters' latest attempt to stop her trial was an emergency application for an injunction, where her attorneys argued that she was simply fulfilling her duty to preserve election records and should be shielded from prosecution by the 14th Amendment. However, her application was denied by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch on Monday, without any comment from the court.
Peters' attorneys were not available for comment on Tuesday night. Currently, Peters is under home confinement and is wearing an ankle monitor for a separate case where she illegally recorded a court hearing on an iPad and attempted to withhold the recording from court officials, according to The Daily Sentinel.
Her trial is scheduled to begin on July 31, as stated in court records. Stay updated on Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
