New footage has emerged showing a physical confrontation involving a former Republican official currently imprisoned for her role in an election tampering scheme. Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk and a prominent figure in the MAGA movement, was captured on camera engaging in a brief but intense altercation with another inmate inside the La Vista Correctional Facility in Colorado.
Incident Details and Conflicting Accounts
The incident occurred on Sunday evening within the state prison. Security camera footage shows the 70-year-old Peters wheeling a cart through a doorway when another inmate approaches her. The view becomes partially obscured by a door, but Peters is then seen emerging with her hands at the other woman's neck, pushing her backwards. The two separate after a few seconds, with Peters returning to her cart and leaving the room, while another inmate observes without intervening.
Legal Team Claims Assault and Retaliation
In a statement posted to her official X profile, which provides updates from her legal representatives, a starkly different narrative was presented. The statement claims that Peters was the victim of an unprovoked assault. It alleges she was inside a maintenance closet filling a water unit when the other inmate entered and began striking her. Peters reportedly raised her hands to push the assailant away in self-defence.
The statement further contends that Peters was subsequently handcuffed, shackled, and placed in solitary confinement, facing a potential felony assault charge for defending herself. It criticises the facility, suggesting the incident was a "targeted attack" and an opportunity to "isolate and harass" Peters, who had reportedly warned officials about potential safety issues. The legal team claims the other inmate has faced no consequences.
Official Response from Corrections Department
The Colorado Department of Corrections has provided an official response that contradicts several claims from Peters' team. A department spokesperson confirmed that neither Peters nor the other inmate sustained injuries from the altercation. Standard procedure following such an incident led to Peters being moved to another unit within the facility for the duration of an ongoing investigation.
Importantly, the department explicitly denied that Peters was placed in solitary confinement, stating that La Vista Correctional Facility does not utilise such practices. The moving of inmates during an internal investigation was described as standard protocol to ensure safety and a thorough review of the facts.
Background: The Election Fraud Conviction
This prison incident follows Peters' high-profile conviction and sentencing in October 2024. She was found guilty on seven counts related to a security breach of election equipment. The case centred on her actions in May 2021, when she used another person's security badge to grant an expert affiliated with My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell unauthorized access to the Mesa County election system.
This allowed for a forensic image to be taken of the system's hard drives following a software update. The data was later used by groups promoting voter fraud theories to question the integrity of Dominion voting machines after the 2020 presidential election. During her sentencing hearing, Peters delivered a nearly hour-long speech reiterating debunked election claims popular among conspiracy theorists.
Political Connections and Pardon Efforts
Peters' case has remained politically charged. Former President Donald Trump, who met Peters at Mar-a-Lago in 2022 and praised her as a "rock star," issued a symbolic pardon for her last month. However, this pardon holds no practical effect as Peters is incarcerated in a state prison, and presidential pardon powers apply only to federal offences. Efforts by Trump's team to have her transferred to federal custody have so far been unsuccessful.
Prosecutors argued that Peters orchestrated the security breach to become a "hero" and secure a speaking slot at Lindell's symposium on the 2020 election. Her defence maintained she was attempting to preserve election data to protect vote integrity. She is now serving a nine-year sentence for her crimes.
