Election deniers spread conspiracy theories
Four Colorado GOP state representatives joined indicted Republican Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and Mypillow CEO Mike Lindell at an election conspiracy rally Tuesday outside the state Capitol, where plenty of accusations were made but no proof of widespread voter fraud was presented.
A crowd of more than 200 people gathered to listen to three hours of speeches calling for the dismantling of the current election systems in the state and across the country.
They lauded Peters, who is facing criminal charges related to allegations of an attempted election security breach, as a hero. The clerk is seeking the Republican nomination for secretary of state, hoping to unseat Jena Griswold, a Democrat.
Rep. Ron Hanks, of Fremont County; Rep. Mark Baisley, of Colorado Springs; Rep. Dave Williams, of Colorado Springs; and Rep. Richard Holtorf, of Akron, joined the speakers at the event.
Election deniers like Lindell, who falsely claim former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, used the rally to cast doubt on the integrity of Colorado’s elections and claimed they had evidence through a newly released report that they believe proves massive fraud in the country’s systems, including Dominion Voting Systems machines.
It’s these claims of a stolen election that spurred Colorado county clerks from various parts of the state to hold a news conference Sunday demanding that those behind this “ongoing disinformation” provide actual evidence of fraud — something the clerks say the conspiracy theorists have yet to do.
“This flurry of reports is a deliberate strategy by those who seek to undermine our elections to create the impression that something is wrong with our election systems, while they simultaneously provide no proof or information that assert that any election results were inaccurate or would have changed in any way, by the findings of these reports,” said Weld County Clerk and Recorder Carly Koppes, a Republican.