Arrest warrant issued for pro-Trump clerk accused of tampering with voting machines

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A judge in Colorado has ordered the arrest of indicted pro-Trump elections clerk Tina Peters after prosecutors said she violated release conditions by travelling out of state.

District Court judge Matthew Barrett revoked Ms Peters’ bond after District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said in court documents he learned she had attended a law enforcement conference in Nevada on 12 July.

Ms Peters has been charged with tampering with voting equipment and misconduct and has become a leading GOP election conspiracy theorist.

Mr Rubinstein became aware Ms Peters had travelled to Las Vegas after she appeared in a photo posted to social media with Gail Golec, a candidate running for a seat on Arizona’s Maricopa County Supervisors Board, at the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) event in Nevada in Las Vegas.

“Strategizing next steps for #election protection with these super heroes,” Ms Golec wrote on the post.

Ms Peters also sent a notarised letter from Las Vegas to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to request a recount in her failed primary election bid for the GOP nomination in the state secretary of state’s race, according to court documents.

Ms Peters was removed from overseeing county elections after allegedly helping two other Republican activists steal voting machine software.

She and her chief deputy are being prosecuted for allegedly allowing a copy of a hard drive to be made during an update of election equipment in May 2021.

A former employee in Ms Peters’ office was also arrested this week on allegations that she was part of the scheme.

According to court papers, Ms Peters’ unauthorised access of voting machines forced Mesa County to ditch the equipment, which costs around $600,000 to replace.

Mr Rubinstein had previously said he would not object to Ms Peters travelling outside of Colorado during her campaign for secretary of state.

However, the election was held on 28 June, two weeks before Ms Peters’ appearance at the Las Vegas conference.

In February, Ms Peters was arrested by police who were serving a search warrant for her iPad on charges of obstructing police and obstructing government operations.

MS Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

She has dismissed the charges filed against her as politically motivated and has not yet entered a plea.

Associated Press contributed to this report