
A bizarre security breach in a rural Colorado elections office underscores how the Big Lie lives on
CNN
An unusual security breach of election systems in a rural Colorado county has set off a criminal investigation and prompted state authorities to sideline a Republican election official -- in a fresh display of how debunked claims of a stolen 2020 presidential election continue to resonate across the country.
The saga unfolding in Mesa County, Colorado, centers on Tina Peters, a Republican county clerk and recorder and supporter of former President Donald Trump. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, has blamed Peters for a leak of closely guarded election passwords that ended up on a QAnon-affiliated Telegram channel. In a statement, Griswold's office also said hard drive images from the county's election servers were obtained by conspiracy theorists. One of the hard drive images "is believed to have been taken on May 23," the statement said -- the same day that the secretary of state said that Peters, another staffer and a non-employee entered a secure room where election equipment was stored. The access took place on a Sunday evening, outside of normal business hours, Griswold's office said.More Related News