A judge in Colorado slammed a former Mesa County clerk as he sentenced her to nine years behind bars for her scheme to interfere with election equipment on behalf of former President Donald Trump, reported 9News anchor Kyle Clark.
Tina Peters was convicted of election tampering and misconduct after she breached voting equipment to try to prove Trump's conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. She was also separately found guilty of obstruction of government operations earlier this year, for trying to stop police from seizing an iPad that was under search warrant.
At sentencing on Thursday, Peters — who has not acknowledged any wrongdoing and maintains her innocence — sought a probation sentence, with allies speaking in her defense accusing the whole prosecution of being politically motivated.
"I'm not a criminal. I have lived my life with honor and with honesty," said Peters tearfully. "I don't deserve to go into a prison where other people have committed heinous crimes."
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Prosecutors, however, recommended stiff jail time, with Dan Rubenstein, the district attorney saying, "There's no purpose in rehabilitation for someone who does not think they've done anything wrong."
District Judge Matthew Barrett agreed — and tore into Peters for her lack of remorse and continued promotion of false election claims.
"Ms. Peters has remained quite defiant, which is her right, but is not helpful," said Barrett, noting that victims of her crimes are right there in the courtroom and her actions both degraded Mesa County and undermined public trust in elections. "I'm convinced you'd do it all over again ... You are no hero. You are a charlatan." He continued on, "You cared about the jets, the podcasts, and the people fawning over you. You are a charlatan and you cannot help but lie as easy as you can breathe."
Peters' supporters reacted with rage to the sentence, noted Clark, with Joe Oltmann — a far-right podcaster who previously advocated for mass hangings of those he disagrees with — vowed to "hold the corrupt trash judge and the treasonous traitors accountable for what they did to Tina."
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