A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A former Colorado elections official is headed for prison. Prosecutors said she gave someone access to her county's voting machines as part of a scheme to look for nonexistent election fraud. Colorado Public Radio's Bente Birkeland has more.
BENTE BIRKELAND, BYLINE: Republican Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, gained national attention when she allowed an unauthorized person to attend a secure update of her county's voting machines. This came months after Donald Trump made false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. A jury found Peters guilty on multiple counts. Mesa County District Court Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced her to nine years behind bars.
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MATTHEW BARRETT: Your lies are well-documented, and these convictions are serious. I'm convinced you would do it all over again if you could. You're as defiant as a defendant as this court has ever seen.
BIRKELAND: Barrett made those blistering comments before he sentenced Peters in front of a packed courtroom.
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BARRETT: You are no hero. You abused your position, and you're a charlatan who used and is still using your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that's been proven to be junk time and time again.
BIRKELAND: Barrett said a stiff sentence would ensure other elected officials respect the responsibilities of their office. Peters asked for probation, saying she had remorse for how it all played out.
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TINA PETERS: (Crying) I'm not a criminal, and I don't deserve to go into a prison where other people have committed heinous crimes.
BIRKELAND: Peters has high-profile backers like Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, and Steve Bannon, both strong Trump supporters. Peters and her allies have never shown that the county's voting machines were involved in any sort of election manipulation.
For NPR News, I'm Bente Birkeland in Colorado. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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