Court investigates threats after Colorado judge sentences Tina Peters to nine years in prison

Court administrators are reviewing threats they received after a Grand Junction district judge ordered Tina Peters to spend nine years behind bars for her role in a 2021 violation of her own county's election system.

21st Judicial District Judge Matthrew Barrett handed down the sentence Thursday after saying Peter had found a way to profit from lies and was convinced she would continue if she stayed out of prison.

“We are receiving threats and compliments regarding Judge Barrett’s sentencing of Tina Peters,” 21st Judicial District Court Director Will Sightler said in a statement Friday afternoon.

“We are currently investigating and will take appropriate action if necessary.”

Court administrators declined to provide further details about the threats. The court will be closed Monday for Cabrini Day, a federal holiday.

Peters, 68, a former Mesa County clerk and recorder, was convicted in August of three counts of attempting to influence a public official; conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation; official misconduct; breach of duty; and failure to comply with an order of the Secretary of State.

“Your lies are well documented and these convictions are serious,” Barrett told Peters during the sentencing. “I am sure you would do it again. You are as defiant a defendant as this court has ever seen.”

She did not testify during her trial but pleaded with the judge on Thursday, pleading for mercy.

“Your honor, I don’t deserve to go to prison where other people have committed heinous crimes,” she said. “I am not a criminal. I have lived my life with faith and honesty.”

Information stolen from Mesa County's voting system was never used to prove voter fraud, but it was used in the nationwide election conspiracy discussion and touted as evidence that Dominion Voting Systems tampered with the election results.

Over time, Peters became a celebrity among election conspiracy theorists — locally and across the country. She became known as “Hero Tina” and “Clerk Peters,” labels her social media followers still use. In 2022, a documentary called “Selection Code” was released that focused on her election violation.

She performed with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. She spoke at conferences with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and other conspiracy theorists. She was a regular guest on Steve Bannon's “War Room” podcast before he was sentenced to prison for ignoring a congressional subpoena. She appeared on numerous right-wing podcasts and demanded money for her defense – demands she repeated throughout the trial and sentencing.

Testimony in her trial showed that the tentacles of her crime reached into the top echelons and inner circles of pro-Trump election deniers – former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Trump national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and Overstock.com- Founder and CEO Patrick Byrne.

This is a developing news story that will be updated.