Arrest warrant issued for Tina Peters after the Mesa County clerk allegedly violates protection order

An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters after she allegedly violated a protection order and her bond conditions by contacting an employee of the Mesa County elections division.

The warrant alleges that Peters sent an email on Wednesday to Mesa County Elections Director Brandi Bantz — with whom she is barred from having contact — seeking a recount of votes in the June 28 Republican primary for secretary of state. Peters lost that race. The warrant was sought by the Fruita Police Department.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel first reported the arrest warrant and Peters’ effort to email election officials about the recount.

Peters previously requested a recount from the secretary of state’s office but did not provide the roughly $250,000 necessary for the effort.

Peters was on the verge of arrest last week as well after she violated the conditions of her bond and traveled to Las Vegas without court approval. A district court judge quashed that warrant after Peters’ attorney took the blame for failed communication about the procedure to request travel between Peters and the court.

Peters, an election conspiracy theorist who denies the results of the 2020 presidential election, is under a grand jury indictment for allegedly facilitating a security breach in her county’s elections office during a software update last year. She will be in Mesa County District Court for that case in early August.

Peters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.