DENVER (Reuters) – A Colorado judge has thrown out an arrest warrant for a county clerk who was charged with a felony for tampering with election equipment and subsequently lost the Republican nomination for Colorado’s top election seat. Mesa County Judge Matthew Barrett said he granted Tina Peters a break because her attorney took responsibility for failing to convey to his client an order barring her from traveling out of state without court approval. The ban was part of the terms of the bail bond that allowed her pretrial release in March. But Barrett warned Peters, who flew to Las Vegas this week to address a conference of conservative law enforcement officers, during the 45-minute hearing that she would not be so lenient if it happened again. “It’s a flight risk,” Barrett said. “He has resources and access to private jets.” In March, Peters was indicted by a Colorado grand jury on election fraud charges stemming from alleged tampering with Mesa County’s voting equipment. Colorado’s Secretary of State barred her from overseeing elections in western Colorado County this year. According to the 10-count indictment, which included counts of criminal impersonation, conspiracy, identity theft and official misconduct, Peters gave unauthorized staff access to the county’s election computer server. The case gained national attention in part because Peters outspokenly supported former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him. Peters has denied any wrongdoing and blamed her legal troubles on her political opponents, including Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold, a Democrat. Undeterred by her indictment, Peters sought the Republican nomination to challenge Griswold, who is running for re-election in November. But Peters, who was allowed to travel outside of Colorado while running for state office, lost the Republican primary last month. Peters is due back in court on August 5. (Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Leslie Adler)
