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Tag: Tina Peters

Colorado’s Republican governor primary: Barb Kirkmeyer in her own words
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Republican governor primary: Barb Kirkmeyer in her own words

By RMV Editorial Board | Rocky Mountain Voice In five weeks, more than 21,000 petition signatures become a name on a ballot. Barb Kirkmeyer got on that ballot by knocking on doors. While her two opponents competed for delegate votes at the GOP state assembly, this state senator skipped the convention and submitted 21,342 petition signatures—15,438 of which were validated by the Secretary of State—to qualify for the June 30 primary. In the individualized portion of RMV's governor primary feature, Kirkmeyer explains why she chose that path and answers questions about her budget vote, TABOR refunds, Tina Peters, abortion and what kind of Republican she is. The questions below were shaped by reader submissions, public statements and Kirkmeyer's record in the state Senate. The six ...
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Judge Barrett denies Tina Peters bond, calls future appeals “frivolous”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Judge Barrett denies Tina Peters bond, calls future appeals “frivolous”

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Tina Peters will not be released from custody. Judge Matthew Barrett denied her renewed motion for bond pending appeal Tuesday morning—two days after refusing to step aside from her case. The nine-page order keeps Peters in prison while her legal team prepares to take the bond question to the Colorado Court of Appeals, the same panel that threw out her sentence earlier this month. Barrett did not hold a hearing. He found he could not conclude Peters is unlikely to flee, called her future appeals "frivolous" and said they would be pursued "for the purpose of delay." "Finality is critical to the resolution of the judicial process," Barrett wrote, "and it would be contrary to the law to ignore the reality that Defendant would use all mean...
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Judge Barrett refuses to step aside in Peters case, defends sentencing math
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Judge Barrett refuses to step aside in Peters case, defends sentencing math

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Judge Matthew Barrett denied Tina Peters' motion to disqualify him on Monday afternoon. In a 16-page order, he accepted every factual claim in the defense affidavits as true, then concluded none of them meet the legal standard for recusal. In a footnote on page 15, he answered the math the defense had used to challenge his letter to the governor. Barrett's order, filed at 3:37 p.m., clears the procedural condition he had cited as the reason he could not rule on Peters' renewed motion for bond pending appeal.  The bond question now sits on his desk under the 48-hour window Colorado Appellate Rule 9(b) sets for ruling on bond pending appeal. The defense's reply on that motion, filed late Sunday night, set up the dispute that follows—a fa...
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Peters’ defense says Barrett used facts that were never in evidence
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Peters’ defense says Barrett used facts that were never in evidence

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The state said Judge Matthew Barrett's sentencing remarks about Tina Peters were harsh words from the bench, not evidence of bias. Peters' legal team answered with a different question: how did the judge know she appeared on podcasts? Where did he get the words "snake oil" and "junk"? The state's response did not touch that argument. The judge being asked to step aside will decide it. Three filings hit the Mesa County docket between late Thursday and Friday morning. District Attorney Dan Rubinstein's office opposed Peters' motion to disqualify Barrett. Her attorneys replied by introducing a theory the state never touched—that Barrett's sentencing comments relied on an "extrajudicial source," meaning information the judge obtained from out...
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Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A Mesa County judge has ordered the state’s attorneys to respond to a motion seeking his removal from the Tina Peters case, setting up a legal fight that will determine who presides over her resentencing—and who decides whether she remains in prison while that process unfolds. In an April 22 order, District Court Judge Matthew Barrett directed the state to file a response “as soon as practicable,” with a deadline of April 27. The order does not resolve the issue. It moves it forward. Now the court must decide whether Barrett can remain on the case—and nothing else in district court moves until that question is answered. 2026-0422 ACTION TAKEN_VERIFIED MOTION TO DISQUALIFY JUDGE MATTHEW BARRETT - People Respond by 4-27Download ...
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Is Election Integrity Possible in the Digital Age?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Is Election Integrity Possible in the Digital Age?

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice It often feels like people in the United States fall into three broad perspectives when it comes to election integrity: Those who believe election tampering is happening Those who suspect there may be issues but are too scared to speak up Those who trust that elections are secure, as presented by mainstream narratives Regardless of where someone stands, there is a growing concern shared across these groups: a sense that individual liberty is eroding, that government accountability is weakening, and that large institutions—both political and corporate—are exerting increasing influence over the direction of the country. When people ask me which of these perspectives I align with, my answer is consistent: I come from a c...
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He lost once. Now he’s back: Why David Willson jumped into Colorado’s AG race late
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

He lost once. Now he’s back: Why David Willson jumped into Colorado’s AG race late

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice For ten years, David Willson stood in Colorado courtrooms defending parents accused of neglect—many of them homeless, addicted or on the verge of losing their children. He learned quickly the system doesn’t operate in clean lines. “I went into that work thinking people were just partying and getting high. It took me about six months to realize they’re trying to get high because their life is so miserable.” Now, his daughter is entering law enforcement. “She said, we arrest a lot of homeless people who have warrants.” For Willson, that isn’t a contradiction. It’s the reality he’s seen from both sides. “You have to understand what people are dealing with. But you also have to enforce the law.” He got in late. The Republica...
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From Kazakhstan to Colorado: Secretary of State candidate James Wiley’s plan to scrap electronic voting machines
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From Kazakhstan to Colorado: Secretary of State candidate James Wiley’s plan to scrap electronic voting machines

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice James Wiley was 7 on Election Night 2000. He remembers the decorations from his birthday staying up for two more weeks while the country waited to find out who had won. He didn’t understand hanging chads or voting machines. At the time, he was living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where his missionary family had been since he was three months old. What stuck with him from those years wasn’t the mechanics of elections. It was how power operated. He’s 32 and running for Colorado Secretary of State as a Republican, after years working on election cases and a stint as executive director of the Libertarian Party.  What he’s saying on the campaign trail isn’t new for him. The push to get rid of electronic voting machines and move to hand-cou...
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Tina Peters convictions upheld, sentence thrown out and case sent back to Mesa County court
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Tina Peters convictions upheld, sentence thrown out and case sent back to Mesa County court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Tina Peters remains convicted—but the case that made her a national figure isn’t over. A Colorado appeals court upheld every conviction against the former Mesa County clerk Thursday, while also throwing out her sentence and ordering resentencing after finding the trial judge improperly weighed her speech about election fraud. The court laid it out over 78 pages—and shut down almost every major argument Peters brought forward. Judges rejected her claim that a presidential pardon could wipe out state convictions. They also rejected her argument that she was acting under federal authority. The convictions stayed. But the sentence didn’t. The ruling leaves Peters’ criminal convictions fully intact while reopening one of the m...
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Tina Peters Cleared In Prison Assault Case After January Scuffle
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Tina Peters Cleared In Prison Assault Case After January Scuffle

By Ava Kian | CPR News Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is currently serving a nine-year sentence for her role in tampering with Mesa County’s election equipment in search of election fraud, was found not guilty of assault after shoving another inmate last January in state prison. She was found guilty for the lesser charge of “unauthorized absence” after being in a restricted area where she was not assigned, Corrections Department spokeswoman Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia said. It’s not a criminal charge, but instead an internal process used to address behavior. Gonzalez-Garcia said the determination was after reviewing evidence, including video footage, medical anatomical forms for both inmates involved, and witness testimony. One of Peter’s attorn...
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