Thread by @SteveStaeger

BREAKING: A Mesa County Grand Jury has returned a 13 count indictment against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and her deputy clerk related to official misconduct and election equipment tampering.

Reading now - will thread here.

#9News

Peters is charged with 3 counts of attempting to influence a public servant, 1 count of conspiracy to commit attempting to influence, criminal impersonation, impersonation conspiracy, identity theft, official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the SOS.

According to the grand jury's indictment, this all started in April of last year - when the Secretary of State started preparing for the trusted build upgrades to election software. Mesa County election staff requested to have members of the public on site during the build...

A representative from SOS told Mesa County only Dominion Voting Systems staff, SOS staff and county staff would be allowed inside during the process - but reminded that the trusted build would be performed under cameras - so members of the public could watch video...

Indictment: On April 19, Peters met with county IT staff, informed them that members of the public wouldn't be allowed in, but said cameras wouldn't capture everything happening on computer monitors... so she wanted county IT staff to be there...

On 4/23, the indictment says Peters and deputy clerk Belinda Knisley had a meeting with others regarding supposed vulnerabilities to election systems. During the meeting Peters was told it was against the law to open the machines. They talked about "bringing in a team to help."

By April 30, the SOS informed that Peters' office had to notify the state who would participate in the trusted build no later than one week prior to the date it was supposed to happen (Mesa's trusted build was May 25)...

On May 13, Knisley contacted county HR asking for access permissions and a county email account for an "I.T. person" to support the clerk with election equipment. She also emailed about a "temp employee" who would need a security badge and county email...

The next day - the county's IT department contacted Knisley about the request. She responded by saying the person was "not a new hire" just a "temp person for the Elections Department."

Peters emailed the IT dept that the person needing credentials was "from the state...

The IT employee, believing he was creating an account for a state employee, created a login and email address for Gerald Wood.

On May 17, Knisley started the process of getting surveillance cameras in elections offices turned off...

Also that day, Knisley told the front office elections manager that Gerald Wood was a new administrative assistant for the clerk and recorder - and that he would take her place during the trusted build.

(Enter Gerald Wood)

Gerald Wood - or Jerry as he goes by in the indictment - testified that Peters contacted him and told him she needed him to back up the Dominion Voting Machines. He says he told her he had no familiarity with the systems.

Wood says Knisley told him to go to HR and get his badge.

He did on May 19. That same day Knisley said he'd get a "Yubikey" to log into the Mesa County Network. He never did. After meeting with Knisley and Peters on May 19, he was required to return the badge to Knisley....

Says he never did any work for Mesa County...

On Sunday, May 23, two days before the trusted build, the indictment says Mesa County records show key cards for Peters, a back office manager named Sandra Brown and Wood were used to get into secured elections offices...

The day the build happened on May 25, a Dominion Voting Systems employee was present and testified that Peters introduced him to a man she called Gerald Wood... an SOS employee also testified that Peters introduced him to a man named Gerald Wood.

Back to Jerry's testimony: Wood told the grand jury he wasn't there on Sunday May 23 or Tuesday May 25 - and even presented evidence that corroborated his testimony.

By August, SOS employees learned that images of the Mesa County election system and related passwords were on the internet.

On August 10, Knisley stated in an interview that Peters directed her to turn off the surveillance cameras...

In that same interview, Knisley said the office had considered hiring Gerald Wood but decided against it.

End of indictment

Here's the arrest warrant for Peters.

NEW: In a statement, Colorado’s Secretary of State @JenaGriswold says “Officials tasked with carrying out elections do so in public trust and must be held accountable when they abuse their power or position.”

Important to note Peters vying for the Republican nomination to challenge Griswold for SOS.

Peters Republican opponent in the primary - Former JeffCo Clerk Pam Anderson, who also led the CO County Clerk’s Assoc, has responded to the charges as well:

https://twitter.com/andersoncosos/status/1501635045475459083