Colorado congressional candidate demands investigation into Rep. Lauren Boebert

A candidate hoping to be the Democratic Party's choice to run for the Colorado District 3 seat in Congress in November has called for a federal investigation into Rep. Lauren Boebert's ties to a former Colorado county clerk who has been indicted on felony and misdemeanor charges.

Aspen resident Adam Frisch said the grand jury that indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters for her alleged role in a scheme to breach voting system technology may have missed "the breadth of the conspiracy or the breadth of the coordination that was going on between Rep. Boebert and her staff and Tina Peters and her staff."

"No one is above the law, regardless of what position they hold," he told The Chieftain.

"Those of us who have been, are, or are seeking public office should be at the highest standards."

Peters turned herself in to the Mesa County jail Wednesday after being indicted the previous day on 10 criminal counts, including attempting to influence a public servant, identity theft, criminal impersonation and conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation.

She is being held on $500,000 bond and could face jail time if convicted on the charges, which include seven felony counts. Deputy Mesa County Clerk Belinda Knisley was also indicted and turned herself in to the Mesa County jail.

"I just think someone needs to investigate, making sure there's not a connection there, but I don't think it's too far-fetched to make that link when Rep. Boebert and Tina Peters are making statements together and releasing comments when Ms. Peters was first taken into custody," Frisch said.

In a letter to the U.S. Attorney in Colorado, Frisch claimed Boebert and Peters collaborated on a regular basis, including when they issued coordinated statements on Nov. 21, criticizing the investigations into Peters and into Boebert's former campaign manager Sherrona Bishop.

"I ask that you investigate the full degree of the orchestration between Boebert, Peters and Bishop as I believe that all co-conspirators should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and no one, including Boebert, should avoid investigation because of their notoriety," he said in the letter.

Frisch is one of eight Democrats who have registered in their party's primary for Boebert's Colorado District 3 seat, which represents a swath of southern Colorado including Pueblo. Three Republicans, including Boebert herself, will contest the GOP primary.

Peters is still in the running to replace the state's top elections official, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat. The Colorado GOP called for Peters to drop out of the race after she was indicted on Tuesday.

“It is our belief, as leaders of the Colorado Republican Party, that any Republican candidate who is indicted with felonies by a grand jury and who will be charged by a Republican District Attorney should suspend their campaign while they undergo the legal challenges associated with those indictments," state GOP chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown, Vice Chairwoman Priscilla Rahn and Secretary Marilyn Harris said in a statement.

"The Republican Party is the party of law and order and we need every Republican voter focused on getting Republicans and constitutional conservatives elected across Colorado in 2022. Today, we are asking Clerk Peters to consider what is best for the Republican Party in Colorado and act accordingly as she avails herself of our judicial system," they said.

Contact Chieftain reporter Lacey Latch at llatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatch.