Ms. Peters, who is awaiting trial in a voting equipment tampering case, was given four months of home detention and community service after her conviction on an obstruction charge.
Tina Peters, a Trump loyalist who was barred from overseeing elections in a Colorado county after her indictment on charges related to tampering with voting equipment, was sentenced on Monday to home detention after she was convicted in a separate obstruction case.
Ms. Peters, the former clerk in Mesa County, was given four months of house arrest and 120 hours of community service in connection with her February 2022 arrest in Grand Junction, Colo., on a misdemeanor obstruction charge, according to court records.
A jury convicted Ms. Peters last month of stonewalling investigators from the district attorney’s office in Mesa County when they tried to seize an iPad from her that she had used to record a court proceeding.
According to an affidavit, police officers responded to a local bagel shop where they said that Ms. Peters, a Republican, resisted while she was being searched and was taken into custody.
Ms. Peters was found guilty of obstructing government operations, but was acquitted of obstructing a peace officer. She was also fined $750 and ordered to wear an ankle monitor.
Harvey A. Steinberg, a lawyer for Ms. Peters, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but told NBC News that he and his client were relieved that Ms. Peters avoided jail time, as had been requested by the district attorney.
A stay was issued in the case, pending an appeal that is expected from Ms. Peters, according to the sentencing order.
Daniel P. Rubinstein, the district attorney of Mesa County, who is also a Republican, said in an interview on Tuesday that Ms. Peters had been seeking to provoke a confrontation with law enforcement officers as a “badge of honor” with her followers — and that as a public office holder at the time, she should be held accountable.
Ms. Peters, a leading election denier in Colorado who promoted former President Donald J. Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, ran unsuccessfully last year for secretary of state. She lost the Republican primary to Pam Anderson, who was defeated in the general election by Jena Griswold, the incumbent Democrat.
A Colorado judge sided with Ms. Griswold in a lawsuit against Ms. Peters last May, blocking Ms. Peters from overseeing elections in Mesa County after she was indicted in March 2022 on charges related to a scheme to copy sensitive voting data after the 2020 election. At the time, Ms. Peters accused Democrats of using the grand jury “to formalize politically motivated accusations” against her.
She is awaiting trial in that case, which is separate from a contempt charge that the district attorney is also bringing against her.
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
