Colorado judge targeted with threats after conviction of election-denying former official for voting system violations

A Colorado judge was the target of threats after sentencing a former county official who liked magnetic mattresses to nine years behind bars for allowing a fellow 2020 election denier to access the local voting system.

Security was beefed up Friday at the Mesa County Justice Center in Grand Junction due to threats against Judge Matthew Barrett and courthouse staff, the Associated Press reported.

A spokesman for the county sheriff said the threats were being investigated but declined to provide details about the threats or the additional security measures, AP said.

Barrett on Thursday sentenced former Mesa County Republican Clerk Tina Peters for her conviction in August on charges including attempting to influence a public official and official misconduct for her role in a May 2021 data breach involving the county’s election system was.

Prosecutors said Peters, 68, a man associated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — an outspoken proponent of the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump — posed as a county worker to steal the computer’s hard drive. copy the system before and after a software update.

County officials had to spend nearly $1 million to replace the affected equipment, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said.

During a lengthy 40-minute statement before her sentencing, Peters claimed she was a “child of God” who did not deserve jail time.

Peters also said that in prison she would be denied a magnetic mattress that she has used since 1995 to treat various ailments.

But Barrett labeled Peters a “charlatan” who “used your position to sell snake oil,” according to the Colorado Sun.

“Your lies are well documented and these convictions are serious,” he said. ‘I’m convinced you would do it all again. You are as challenging a defendant as this court has ever seen.”