A grand jury in Mesa County, Colorado has returned 10 criminal counts against Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters. Additionally, the grand jury has also returned six counts against Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley. All of this is in connection with a potential election equipment security breach.

The grand jury empaneled at the end of January to investigate alleged equipment tampering and official misconduct, returned its findings Tuesday evening.

Peters, a Republican who previously launched a bid for secretary of state is now charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and identity theft. Each is a felony, according to the Mesa County District Attorneys’ Office. Peters has also been charged with first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the secretary of state, all misdemeanors.

So apparently Peters has perhaps been busy. Unsurprisingly, she’s another 2020 election denier and a QAnon conspiracy believer.

Knisley is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit attempting to influence a public servant, all felonies. She has also been charged with first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the secretary of state. All are misdemeanors.

These two sound like quite a pair, don’t they?

Warrants were issued for Peters’ and Knisley’s arrests with a $500,000 bond attached to each. The women, whose official duties included overseeing county elections, turned themselves in Wednesday afternoon at the Mesa County Detention Facility.

Here’s where the fun part comes in: the charges are all based on local, state, and federal investigations that were launched into the potential breach after secretary of state Jena Griswold sued Peters and Knisley for allegedly allowing an unauthorized man the access to make copies of the servers associated with voting machines. Passwords from that equipment were then posted online by a key figure in the QAnon movement, Ron Watkins.

The FBI, state and local officials got busy in November, searching four locations stemming from the possible election security breach, including Peters’ own home.

Frankly, this whole thing is convoluted and just plain weird. Saja Hindi, writing for the Post notes:

“The indictment and arrest documents say that beginning in April 2021 before the Dominion Voting Systems election equipment trusted build process started — a routine software upgrade — Peters and Knisley ‘devised and executed a deceptive scheme which was designed to influence public servants, breach security protocols, exceed permissible access to voting equipment, and set in motion the eventual distribution of confidential information to unauthorized people.'”

But Peters and Knisley didn’t stop there.

“Furthermore, these defendants, without permission or lawful authorization, also used the name and personal identifying information of Gerald ‘Jerry’ Wood to further their criminal scheme. This unlawful use of Mr. Wood’s identity by Tina Peters and Belinda Knisley also subjected Mr. Wood to various forms of liability and criminal exposure,” the indictment states.

If Peters and Knisley did this, as the indictment suggests, all I can say is that’s pretty sneaky. The two women are facing a variety of other legal complaints but I’d have to write an Encyclopedia Britannica to cover all the allegations. A joint statement by DA Dan Rubinstein and Attorney General Phil Weiser said that the grand jury, comprised of local citizens reviewed the evidence and found probable cause for the charges.

“This investigation is ongoing, and other defendants may be charged as we learn more information,” they say. “We remind everyone that these are allegations at this point and that they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

For her part, Peters is blaming the Democrats for “the politically motivated accusations.”

“Using legal muscle to indict political opponents during an election isn’t a new strategy, but it’s easier to execute when you have a district attorney who despises president Trump and any constitutional conservative like myself who continues to demand all election evidence be made to the public,” she said. “But a grand jury is one of the last cards the Democrats have to play here. They hope to influence voters enough with indictments and arrests and media drama during the primaries, to elect a weaker general election oponent for Secretary of State Jena Griswold.”

The Colorado Republican Party does NOT have Peters’ back, however, having released a statement urging Peters to drop out of the race (she’s running against Griswold) until the legal process has concluded.

I have no idea how this craziness will pan out. Once again, all I can say is stay tuned.