A Western Slope judge threw the book at former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters sending her to prison for nine years and labeling her a charlatan who deceived her followers in pursuit of fame and money.
Judge Matthew Barrett denied her request to remain free on bail pending an appeal. She’s to serve out several months in the Mesa County Detention Center then she’s off to prison.
Peters became a cult hero among some on the far right after breaching the county’s election system she was responsible for securing in a failed election data scheme to prove election rigging.
She could never prove it but used the headlines and a far-right network of online social media chats and podcasts to promote her rambling theories of election fraud that just never made sense.
For years she has insisted her proof was just around the corner. But the so-called proof always turned out to be more murky claims.
“You cared about the jets, the podcasts, and the people fawning over you,” Barrett said in handing down his sentence on Thursday.
“You are a charlatan, and you cannot help but lie as easy as you can breathe,” Barrett said.
Peters still lives in denial that her actions had consequences or that she broke the law.
“I’m not a criminal, and I don’t deserve to go to a prison where other people committed heinous crimes,” Peters said.
She will forever be a tragic figure in Colorado politics, and a punchline for Democrats.
Peters would be 79 years old when she finishes her sentence.