GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — In March of 2022, Tina Peters was indicted on felony charges including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft, and other related charges.
Peters has denied all the allegations against her and last week filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein.
The lawsuit seeks to prohibit Garland, Griswold and Rubinstein from being able to investigate or prosecute Peters in court. Rubinstein tells WesternSlopeNow the lawsuit mentions that all actions Peters took were to exercise her First Amendment free speech rights and that she has whistleblower protections.
Rubinstein tells me he believes Peters is not coordinating this civil lawsuit with her criminal lawsuit because if she was, she could have used those arguments as defenses. Rubinstein said the Mesa County Attorney is working to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and that he expects a federal judge to dismiss it quickly.
Tina Peters's trial is scheduled to start in February and WesternSlopeNow will be there to bring you full coverage once it begins.