Tina Peters turns herself in on arrest warrant in Grand Junction

By: Newsline staff - February 10, 2022 4:35 pm

A rally organized by the Truth & Liberty Coalition in support of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters took place on Dec. 1, 2021, in front of the old Mesa County courthouse in Grand Junction. (Sharon Sullivan for Colorado Newsline)

Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk and recorder, turned herself in Thursday at the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office on an arrest warrant. She was released on a $500 bond.

She faces misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and obstructing government operations.

The charges stem from her interactions with law enforcement officers on Tuesday, when Grand Junction police officers who were helping Mesa County district attorney investigators arrested Peters at a local bagel shop after she reportedly obstructed the investigators and resisted arrest. The investigators had a search warrant related to an iPad that Peters allegedly used to record court proceedings on Monday.

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Peters was released at the scene, but the subsequent arrest warrant concerned her interaction with law enforcement officials on Tuesday. At one point she tried to kick a cop, according to a police officer’s affidavit.

Tina Peters’ booking photo. (Courtesy of Mesa County Sheriff’s Office)

Peters is the subject of a grand jury investigation of her conduct around election systems in her own office. She allegedly allowed an unauthorized person into the room during a software update last year, an alleged breach of security protocol that resulted in sensitive information about Mesa County’s election system being posted online.

Peters was barred from overseeing the 2021 coordinated election and the Colorado secretary of state is seeking a similar restriction for the 2022 elections. She is also facing ethics and campaign finance complaints.

The Tina Peters Legal Defense Fund, formed to help Peters with her various legal troubles, said in a statement after the Tuesday incident that it contests the allegations made in the arrest warrant affidavit.

On Thursday, the fund released a statement on Peters turning herself in to authorities.

“The Legal Defense Fund has no objection to complying with any investigation at any time — our objection continues to be to the harsh treatment of Clerk Peters, officers illegally confiscating her car keys, which were not listed in the search warrant, wrestling them out of her hands, and causing bruises and contusions,” the statement said. “The officers kept the keys after releasing Clerk Peters, even though they were not then permitted to search her vehicle under the warrant.”

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