Judge Issues Warrant For Indicted MAGA Clerk After She Attends Far-Right Event In Vegas

A Colorado judge issued an arrest warrant for Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters Thursday after she attended a far-right conference in Las Vegas earlier in the week, saying Peters had violated the terms of her release, which required the court’s permission to travel out of state.

“Upon review of the People’s Verified Motion to Revoke Bond I find a sufficient basis to grant the same,” Matthew David Barrett, a Colorado judge, wrote in a filing Thursday. “A no bond warrant issued for Defendant’s arrest pending a hearing before me to address the matters set forth in the motion.”

Peters has been charged with multiple felonies for her role in allegedly violating the security protocols in her office in order to allow an unauthorized person to make copies of her county’s voting machines, which were subsequently leaked online. Peters is also accused of stealing a local man’s identity to use as the basis for a security badge for the unauthorized person.

Peters recently lost a bid for the Republican nomination for Colorado secretary of state — a result that she claims, predictably but without evidence, was fraudulent. She was in Nevada to address the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group in the “constitutional sheriffs” movement, which asserts that sheriffs are the supreme law enforcement authorities in their jurisdictions, and that they have the duty to ignore laws they deem unconstitutional. The association has recently leaned hard into election theft conspiracy theories.

In her speech to the group, Peters discussed her recent campaign, the investigation into her activities as clerk, and her apparent dislike of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).

Peters has claimed that Boebert encouraged her to make digital copies of the voting machines, and on Tuesday claimed Boebert had met with her, Boebert’s former campaign manager and the unauthorized person who prosecutors contend copied the machines as part of the scheme, the former professional surfer Conan Hayes. A spokesperson for Boebert denied both claims to The New York Times. The Colorado Times Recorder first reported Peters’ comments in Las Vegas.

During her speech, Peters angrily denounced Boebert, who she said hadn’t sufficiently supported Peters.

“Do not clap for her! I went up to her and I said, ‘Lauren, I need your support.’ She bristled up and she sys — when all of this started coming down — and says, ‘I support all my constituents,’” Peters seethed. “Have you heard her say anything about elections or election security? Have you? I’m coming out with the whole truth.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified the charges against Peters as federal rather than state charges. We regret the error.