After elections, Mesa County uses a risk-limiting audit procedure to ensure that the results on paper ballots match the results reported by tabulation machines.[23] The audit process involves a bipartisan group of staff and volunteers to randomly select a number of paper ballots and manually check those results against the results issued by a tabulation machine.[23][24] On November 19, 2020, Peters signed off on the results of the risk-limiting audit for Mesa County, stating there were no issues or discrepancies with the results of the 2020 election in the county.[24][25]
Despite signing documents that agreed there were no discrepancies in the election results for the county, Peters met with individuals who promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was illegitimate.[26] In the months following the 2020 election, she allowed an unauthorized person to access the Mesa County's Dominion electronic voting machines and to copy the hard drives of those machines.[27]
In 2024, Peters was convicted in Colorado's 21st judicial district on felony charges relating to this unauthorized access and was sentenced to nine years in prison. She was also ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines.[28] She was immediately taken into custody.[29]
Granting unauthorized access to voting machines
In May 2021, Peters ordered the surveillance cameras monitoring the voting machines in the clerk's office to be turned off, and that they would be reactivated in advance of the next election in August 2021, according to an email sent by Mesa County Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley and later cited in evidence by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.[30][31] Peters later stated that no law or election rule required security cameras that monitor election equipment to operate continuously; at minimum, they must be on 60 days before an election and 30 days afterward. Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland stated that Peters had not turned off the cameras after any of the eight previous elections that Peters had overseen since 2018.[32]
In the days following her order to turn off the surveillance cameras, Peters allowed Conan Hayes, co-founder of the clothing company RVCA and proponent of QAnon conspiracy theories,[33] to access the room where Mesa County's electronic voting machines were stored and to copy sensitive information from those machines.[34] Days later, Peters allowed Hayes to be present for a software update to the voting machines and to record video of the update taking place.[35] Peters' chief aide, former deputy clerk Belinda Knisley, described Hayes as a "mystery man," and said that Peters told her she brought him in to access files from the voting machines because Peters "was afraid the Colorado Secretary of State's office was going to remove them."[36]
During the time Hayes was present, he used a staff access badge for Gerald Wood,[37] and according to Griswold, Peters misled her staff by saying "Wood" was an employee and had been background-checked.[31] Phone records confirmed that Hayes had traveled to the area during the time of the software update. His hotel room was paid for by Sherronna Bishop, then-campaign manager for Boebert.[34] Peters later said that she, Bishop, Hayes, and United States Representative Lauren Boebert had dinner together on May 24.[38]
Publication of stolen voting machine data
In August 2021, Ron Watkins, conspiracy theorist and site administrator of the imageboard website 8kun, published computer files associated with the Mesa County election system, including "forensic images of Mesa County's voting machines along with video of [a software] update and partially blurred passwords" on a Telegram channel.[37][39][32][40] The Gateway Pundit also published passwords, video, and data associated with the Mesa County election system.[37]
Dominion, the company that made Mesa County's voting machines, identified the leaked passwords as belonging to the machines in Mesa County.[24] The company alerted the state, and Griswold ordered an inspection of the county's voting equipment the following day and prohibited anyone from touching the equipment without her written permission. The order stated: "The posted images depict the BIOS passwords specific to the individual hardware stations of Mesa County's voting system. These passwords can only be used physically at a voting system at the Mesa County Clerk's Office."[41] Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein assigned an investigator to look into the security breach.[31] On August 10, Colorado Department of State staff accessed the county election equipment and some records at the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's office. They found security vulnerabilities in the servers and boot settings.[42][43] Peters described the search as a "raid" and, saying that her chief deputy had not been allowed to be present, said: "I don't know what they did, but I can tell you I don't trust them."[44]
A day after state officials investigated the voting machines in Mesa County, Peters attended a 2020 election conspiracy conference held by Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and conspiracy theorist.[40] During the conference, Ron Watkins presented via livestream the computer files associated with the Mesa County election system he had shared on Telegram previously.[40] He claimed, "the files were from hard drives taken 'without authorization' from Peters' office," which he said his lawyer instructed him to disclose.
At the conference, Peters denied the files had come from her office,[40] and if they had, questioned if the leak of data was a problem. She claimed:
If those passwords were compromised, why can't they just change them? How many of you have had to change your email password before? Is that a big deal? You just change it. We're not in the middle of an election right now... It's not like some secret people came and did something nefarious.[37]
Decertification of compromised voting machines
On August 12, 2021, Griswold issued Election Order 2021-02 (EO-02), which announced the decertification of the county's voting equipment, which would have to be replaced before the November election unless Mesa County chose to conduct a hand count of ballots. Additionally, Griswold announced that Peters could no longer oversee the 2021 election.[31][45]
On August 17, 2021, the FBI investigated the alleged Mesa County election equipment breach alongside the Colorado Department of State's and County Treasurer's offices.[37] Peters was not present when officials went to meet Peters and inspect the equipment. Griswold issued a third Election Order, 2021-03 (EO-03), stating that Peters was in hiding and not complying, and as such, Mesa County Treasurer and former Clerk and Recorder Sheila Reiner was permitted to take control of the Mesa County elections as Election Supervisor. Griswold appointed her Republican predecessor, former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, as the Designated Election Official.[43][30] The U.S. Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) looked into the alleged breach and determined that the incident did not risk the integrity of elections in either the state or the country, according to the secretary of state's office.[37] On August 19, 2021, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told Vice News in an interview that Peters was "holed up" in a safe house provided by him for her protection.[46] A member of Lindell's own security team leaked the location, so she was moved to another unknown location.[47] On August 21, 2021, a support rally was held for Peters in Mesa County; her supporters said there had been a security breach.[48]
On August 24, 2021, the all-Republican Mesa County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to replace 41 compromised pieces of election equipment with new equipment also from Dominion Voting Systems. Thirty-four county residents spoke to the commission before the vote, all opposing the Dominion contract.[47] The commissioners extended the service agreement for eight years (to 2029) and purchased a "Dominion Ballot Audit Review" for $3,300 per election, for a total cost of $825,281. The agreement with Dominion included a promise that the company would not file a civil lawsuit against the county over defamatory remarks allegedly made by Peters.[31][49]
Removal from overseeing 2021 election
On August 30, Griswold filed a lawsuit to prevent Peters from overseeing the 2021 election, because the authority to terminate Peters lay with the courts and not with her.[50] The county commissioners voted to reject Reiner and instead appointed Williams to oversee Mesa County elections.[51]
On August 23, 2021, Mesa County Human Resources Director Brenda Moore suspended Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley with pay due to accusations of unprofessional behavior and hostile work environment.[52] Mesa County Elections Manager Sandra Brown was also suspended.[53] On August 25, Knisley entered the Clerk and Recorder's office, from which she had been barred, and tried to use Peters' credentials to print documents. She surrendered on September 1 to be charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor cybercrimes and was released on a personal recognizance bond.[53][11]
On September 17, 2021, Peters gave the county commissioners an 83-page report titled "Forensic Examination and Analysis" prepared by cyber forensic expert Doug Gould. The report included images of server hard drives and attempted to show that some files were deleted or replaced with other files; according to the report, the "trusted build"[54][55] deleted a total of 28,989 log files but did not state the purpose of the files or whether they were supposed to be replaced with new files as part of a software upgrade. It concluded: "Further investigation is required to determine the full scope of non-compliance with legal mandates for voting systems and election records, and whether the non-compliance is deliberate or simply negligent."[56] Griswold's office responded, "Prior to the routine upgrade to voting equipment called the 'trusted build', counties are directed to save to external media all data necessary to completely audit and verify a prior election. This data may be restored to the EMS after the trusted build. No court has ever held that voting system event logs are election records within the meaning of 52 U.S.C. § 20701."[56]
On September 18, in response to a court filing to remove her from overseeing the next election, Peters stated that there had been an unauthorized person and non-employee present at the annual system upgrade but that Peters had been within her legal right to allow that person to be present.[11] On October 13, 2021, Mesa County District Court Judge Valerie Robinson ruled that Peters and Knisley had allowed a breach in the county's election system during a major software update and, therefore, were barred from supervising the November election.[57] Peters said she would appeal, but on October 21, the Colorado Supreme Court declined to take up her appeal.[58]
On November 9, Mesa County Election Director Brandi Bantz fired Sandra Brown, who said she would file a lawsuit against the county for improper termination.[52][59] On the evening of November 16, 2021, law enforcement authorities executed search warrants on the homes of Peters, Sherronna Bishop, and two others as part of the criminal investigation. Peters claimed on TV that the agents had broken down the door of one residence with a battering ram, but they denied this. No arrests were made.[60]
On February 7, 2022, during a hearing for Knisley, Peters was seen video recording the proceedings on her iPad. She was charged with contempt of court,[61] though this charge was later overturned on appeal.[62] When investigators tried the following day to execute a search warrant to seize her iPad with the video footage, Peters tried to hide the iPad and repeatedly said that she could not provide the password to the iPad because it belonged not to her but to a "Tammy Bailey." She was additionally charged with obstructing government operations and obstructing a peace officer.[63]
Indictment, trial and conviction
Peters was indicted on March 9, 2022, on 13 counts: three counts of attempting to influence a public servant (class 4 felonies), two counts of conspiracy to commit attempting to influence a public servant (class 5 felonies), first-degree official misconduct (a class 2 misdemeanor), violation of duty (a misdemeanor), failing to comply with the secretary of state (a misdemeanor), obstruction, contempt of court, criminal impersonation, and identity theft of Gerald Wood.[64][65] She was reported to have "sought to prove that widespread fraud had occurred in the state's 2020 presidential election",[19][66][67] Knisley was indicted alongside Peters, on six counts: attempt to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty, and failure to comply with the requirements of the Secretary of State.[64]
Despite having acknowledged in earlier court appearances that a non-employee had been present,[11] she claimed that Gerald Wood had perjured himself on the stand when he denied being at the unauthorized breach.[65] Conan Hayes admitted to using Wood's badge, and Patrick M. Byrne told The New York Times that Hayes was on his payroll and had used FaceTime with him from inside Mesa County election offices saying a government official invited him to make backup copies of machines. Byrne told the Times he could see Hayes was wearing "someone else's" identification badge.[68] Peters was barred from supervising local elections in 2022 as well.[19][69][18]
Three ethics complaints have also been filed against Peters. On August 16, 2021, she was alleged to have accepted plane rides and other gifts from Mike Lindell in excess of the state gift limit of $65.[70][71] In April 2022, at an appearance with Peters, Lindell disclosed having personally donated an amount in the $200,000 to $800,000 range to her legal defense fund and campaign.[72] As this was also in apparent violation of the $65 state limit, the Colorado ethics commission approved a second ethics complaint that had been made in January 2022 and investigated Peters' elections fund.[73][70][71] Peters denied prior knowledge,[74] despite previously directing supporters to Lindell's legal defense fund.[72] On May 17, 2022, the commission found a third ethics complaint filed on May 9 non-frivolous. This complaint was based on Lindell's comments at an "Election Truth Rally" and alleged that Peters knew of these payments, as evidenced by recorded comments she made at the rally.[75][76]
In July 2022, a warrant was issued for Peters' arrest after she traveled out of state without the required court permission to appear at another Lindell event in Las Vegas.[77] Peters claimed not to know of the restriction, her three attorneys claimed not to have told her, and the arrest order was canceled;[78] but later the same month, a second warrant for her arrest was issued because she emailed multiple county clerk's offices informing them that she was seeking a recount with hand counting, violating the bond conditions of her arrest for election machine tampering. Peters turned herself in, was arrested, was allowed to repost bond, and was again released.[79] County Elections Manager Sandra Brown also turned herself in for arrest on July 11, 2022, on an affidavit naming her in a conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and attempt to influence a public servant. She was released from custody after posting a personal recognizance bond.[80]
Peters claimed in a July 29 press release that El Paso County's logic and accuracy test (LAT) failed "in a spectacular fashion, with over a 50% error rate out of the 4,000+ ballots tested."[81][82] The release also claimed that "Griswold did not provide reasonable advance notice of the LAT to the Tina Peters Campaign, thereby denying them their right to have an [sic] appointed watchers present during the test," however, the Colorado Springs Gazette showed representatives for Peters' campaign present at the test.[83] Peters filed suit challenging methods used in the recount, and on August 6, 2022, that suit was dismissed.[84]
On August 7, 2022, Peters pled not guilty to all charges related to the alleged election machine tampering, and a trial was set for March 2023.[85] On August 20, 2022, Peters and Sherronna Bishop appeared in a documentary released by Mike Lindell titled "[S]election Code".[86][87][88]
On August 25, 2022, Knisley pled guilty to three misdemeanor counts of trespass, official misconduct, and violation of duty, having cut a plea deal with prosecutors to keep her out of prison in exchange for testifying against Peters and others in the case. Court documents say Knisley admitted she knew about and participated in a "scheme with Tina Peters and other identified people to deceive public servants from both the Colorado Secretary of State's Office and Mesa County."[89] The document continues to state, "This scheme, which was significantly directed by Tina Peters, ultimately permitted an unauthorized individual to gain access to secure areas inside the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's Office so that this person – fraudulently held out to be improperly titled as Gerald Wood, but who was later identified to actually be Conan Hayes – could participate in Mesa County's trusted build with Tina Peters and Sandra Brown."[90]
On November 30, 2022, Sandra Brown pled guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, as part of a plea agreement that required her to testify against Tina Peters and her performance on the witness stand would play a factor in her eventual sentencing. Brown's deal, which 21st Judicial District Judge Matthew Barrett did not decide whether to accept until sentencing, would require her to serve up to 30 days in jail for the misdemeanor and would allow the felony conviction to be erased after two years if she complied with conditions he sets, such as requiring community service, for those two years. "There were things going on that I should have questioned and I didn't," Brown told Judge Barrett.[91]
In March 2023, Peters received a Mesa County jury trial for charges related to her recording the court proceedings of Knisley with an iPad and for obstructing investigators who tried to execute a search warrant to seize her iPad with the video footage the next day. During the trial, testimony and statements from Peters' attorney revealed that Tammy Bailey was an alias that Peters had created for herself; during the time of the search warrant, Peters had repeatedly told investigators that the iPad did not belong to her and that she could not provide the password because it belonged to someone else named Tammy Bailey. The jury ultimately convicted her on a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of government operations but acquitted her on the charge that she obstructed a peace officer.[92][63] The court sentenced Peters to four months of house arrest for this misdemeanor, during which she was ordered to wear an ankle monitor, fined $786.35, and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, which she planned to appeal.[93][94]
Sandra Brown began her 30-day sentence for the misdemeanor of official misconduct. Brown's deal would allow her felony conviction of attempting to influence a public servant to be expunged after two years if she complied with the conditions set by Judge Barrett.[95]
On May 5, 2023, Peters was held in contempt of court for lying to Judge Barrett about recording court proceedings involving Knisley using her iPad on February 7, 2022. Eagle County District Judge Paul Dunkelman gave Peters a fine of $1,500.[61] On September 6, 2023, Peters pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to influence a public servant (felony), conspiracy to commit trying to influence a public servant (felony), criminal impersonation (felony), two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation (felony), identity theft (felony), first-degree official misconduct (misdemeanor), violation of duty (misdemeanor), and failing to comply with the secretary of state (misdemeanor).[96] Her trial was pushed back to February 9, 2024,[97] with the jury selection process to take place on the two preceding days.[98]
On July 19, 2023, Tina Peters fired her attorney, Harvey Steinberg, and hired new attorneys, Douglas Richards and Madalia Maalik. They requested to push the trial to October 18–30, 2023.[99]
On November 13, 2023, Peters filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Denver, Colorado against the United States, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, 21st Judicial District Court Attorney Daniel Rubinstein, and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. The suit alleged that these government officials violated her constitutional rights by retaliating with investigations and charges against her for her alleged misconduct as an election official when she raised election integrity concerns in the 2020 General Election.[100]
In February 2024, Peters was scheduled to go to court for her criminal case but had fired her attorneys again, claiming to have COVID-19. Attorney Michael Edminister took over the case from Douglas Richards and other attorneys in the Richards Carrington law firm, making him the fifth attorney of record and the fourth time her case has been postponed.[101] The trial was again delayed until the July and August 2024.[102]
Peters attempted to have the charges against her dismissed several times. U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang dismissed Peters' motion to dismiss the criminal investigation citing a failure to state a claim, a lack of standing, and a lack of jurisdiction to dismiss the case.[103][104] The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied her appeal of that decision, with a unanimous 3–0 ruling affirming the lower court's decision.[105][106] Then, the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Neil Gorsuch denied Peters' application for an injunction to dismiss or halt a criminal trial against her.[107][108] The trial then proceeded.
Conviction and sentencing
Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven of ten charges of engaging in a security breach to advance a false conspiracy theory of election fraud. Four of the convictions were for felonies.[27][109] On the day after her conviction, she appeared on the Steve Bannon War Room podcast to insist she would continue to pursue her allegations, referring to a debunked theory originating from former Michigan politician Patrick Colbeck and amplified on Twitter by Rasmussen Reports alleging Dominion engineers based in Serbia could change votes over the internet.[110][111]
Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison and immediately taken into custody in October 2024.[112] At her sentencing, District Court Judge Matthew Barrett told Peters, "Your lies are well documented... I'm convinced you'd do it all over again if you could."[113] Peters told the judge, "I've never done anything with malice to break the law. I've only wanted to serve the people of Mesa County."[112] Barrett told her, "You are no hero. You're a charlatan who used, and is still using, your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that's been proven to be junk time and time again."[29] Subsequent to the sentencing the courthouse increased security after receiving threats to the judge and staff.[114]
On February 7, 2025 Peters filed a federal habeas corpus petition in U.S. District Court of Colorado, arguing that she should be released on bond pending the appeal decision. Peters asked the court to appear at the hearing remotely from jail in Pueblo, but the judge denied the request.[115] Her petition for release pending appeal was denied by Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak on December 8, 2025.[116]
In May 2025, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Justice to take actions to secure Peters' release. In August 2025, Trump issued a social media statement warning that "harsh measures" would be imposed on Colorado if Peters was not released.[117] On November 12, the Colorado Department of Corrections received a letter from the Federal Bureau of Prisons asking to move Peters to federal custody,[118] a request denied by state prison officials and Colorado Governor Jared Polis.[119] On December 11, Trump said he had pardoned Peters, despite having no jurisdiction over convictions under state law. Colorado officials rejected the pardon for lack of jurisdiction.[120] On December 23, Peters asked the state appeals court to recognize the federal pardon.[121] On December 31, Trump posted to social media that the governor was a "Scumbag" and the district attorney was "disgusting". He said: "I wish them only the worst. May they rot in Hell."[122]
As of December 2025 Peters was housed at La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, Colorado.[123] Her current parole eligibility date is December 20, 2028.[124]
In January 2026, a representative for Peters alleged that she was attacked by another inmate inside a maintenance closet, that she had been placed in solitary confinement, and that she would be charged with felony assault. The Independent reported that surveillance footage showed that Peters "emerges from the doorway and appears to wrap her hands around the inmate's neck". The Colorado Department of Corrections responded that no one was injured and that Peters was simply moved to a different housing area.[125]
let's close with ci.'s 'The Snapshot:'
While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem refused to admit she was wrong for announcing that the two people killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis were “domestic terrorists” in the immediate aftermath of their deaths.
“We have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you were wrong,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told her. “Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families.”
Durbin also brought up teacher’s assistant Marimar Martinez, who survived being shot five times by ICE agents in Chicago and was also accused by the federal government of being a domestic terrorist.
He then said he wanted to give Noem “an opportunity to do the right thing” and asked, “Do you retract these statements identifying these individuals as domestic terrorists?”
Noem did not, instead giving a long-winded answer about her heart breaking for the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. She justified her actions by claiming “agents at the scene” told her the victims were terrorists and that the situation was “chaotic.”
Noem continued to skirt the issue, prompting Durbin to ask, “Is it so hard to say you were wrong?”
Senate Judiciary Democrats have accused FBI Director Kash Patel of shutting down the FBI investigation into the death of Renee Good at the hands of ICE agents because he did not want the warrant to call her a “victim.”
The group posted on social media on Monday that a “credible whistleblower” revealed that “FBI forensic experts were ordered to stand down from processing the scene where Renee Good was killed, because Kash Patel did not want Good referenced as a ‘victim’ in the warrant.”
In a follow-up post, the Democrats clarify that Patel “wanted to falsely spin Renee Good as a threat to law enforcement.” The post included a screenshot explaining information from a credible whistleblower that the FBI’s Forensic Response Section was initially called to the scene of Good’s death to access Good’s car and gather evidence.
Senator Adam Schiff: […] Madam Secretary I want to ask you about one of the first claims you made in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. You accused them both, I think, within hours of engaging in domestic terrorism. You have testified earlier that you did so based on preliminary field reports. Who told you that these two victims were engaged in domestic terrorism? Where did you get that information from?
Secretary Kristi Noem: I have said before and will repeat again for you Senator, that those reports were coming from on the ground agents that were there. It was a chaotic scene.
Senator Adam Schiff: So, you spoke to agents on the ground who told you they were domestic terrorists?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Yes, my team was working with me, talking to those agents on the ground to relay as much information as possible that we could to the American people.
Senator Adam Schiff: So, your team told you that people in Minneapolis said they were domestic terrorists. Did they tell you whether they had any basis for that claim within either minutes or hours of the shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Sir, if you look back at the day of January 24, there was a press conference earlier in the day and then I held one hours later. And we were also talking –
Senator Adam Schiff: I’m asking you, did you determine whether there was any basis for the sensational claim, a claim that proved to be utterly false, that these two victims were engaged in domestic terrorism?
Secretary Kristi Noem: There is an investigation ongoing. The FBI is leading --
Senator Adam Schiff: I’m aware of that. I’m asking you --
Secretary Kristi Noem: -- there is also internal investigations that are ongoing –
Senator Adam Schiff Schiff: What I’m asking about though is not the investigation that’s ongoing […] I’m asking about your statements in the immediate aftermath of these shootings. Your statements based on completely unvetted information. Information that if it was even provided to you, proved to be utterly false. That you were content to tell the whole country. Do you have any concern about misleading the whole country? Don’t you think in the immediate aftermath of a shooting that you should provide only vetted information to the public? How do you imagine you are going to gain the trust of the American people if you’re pushing out false information about the shooting of American citizens?
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for being here today, Madam Secretary. For a year, you maintained that no U.S. citizens have been arrested or detained by ICE or CBP. After hearings I conducted in the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as the Ranking Member, you admitted finally in a letter written to me just last month, that in fact U.S. citizens have been detained and arrested. I’m going to ask, Mr. Chairman, that that letter be entered into the record. Thank you. You put the number at 38. Far more American citizens have been arrested by ICE and CBP, probably in the hundreds, perhaps the thousands. Have you met with any of the American citizens who have been detained or arrested by your agency?
Secretary Kristi Noem: The individuals that may have been detained and arrested were individuals that could have been obstructing law enforcement operations --
Senator Richard Blumenthal: You haven’t met with them, correct?
Secretary Kristi Noem: -- and committing crimes that way, and that we would have been detaining individuals until their identity was confirmed.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: I would like to introduce you to three of them. Leo, Javier, and Marimar, would you please stand? These three individuals, Madam Secretary, were arrested by your agency. Leonardo Venegas, Javier Ramirez, and Marimar Martinez. Do you know what your agents did to Leo Venegas? I’ll tell you. On May 21 of last year, they entered the private property at a house that he was constructing without consent, without a warrant, illegally. Again, on June 12, they entered private property, a home where he was doing construction. He is a United States citizen, born in Florida. They seized him and ignored and disregarded his proof of citizenship. Wouldn't you agree with me that no U.S. citizen simply working lawfully should be arrested?
Secretary Kristi Noem: In law enforcement operations across the country, there are times when U.S. citizens --
Senator Richard Blumenthal: It’s a simple yes or no.
Secretary Kristi Noem: -- may be arrested or detained until their identity is confirmed and that they haven’t committed a crime.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Would you agree with me, Madam Secretary, that U.S. citizens should not be arrested when they are obeying the law, they have no criminal record, and they are engaged in lawful activity?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Sir, in situations where law enforcement, regardless of the agency, across the country, when there is probable cause an individual --
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Let me tell you about Javier Ramirez. Do you know what your agents did to Javier Ramirez? He was on his own private property when he was assaulted by masked agents—his own property—without a warrant, without consent. They said, “Get him, he's Mexican.” He was violently slammed into the ground while being handcuffed and taken into custody, despite telling officers that he is a United States citizen and even showing them his passport. And when he was asked what he was being arrested for, you know what they said? “We don’t know.” Wouldn’t you agree that targeting someone just because he is, or looks like he is, Mexican, when he is a United States citizen, is wrong?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Senator, we do not target people based on their race or ethnicity. We do targeted operations based on criminal backgrounds and information that we have.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: This story goes on, Madam Secretary. Javier was detained for over four days. He was denied medicine that he needed for severe diabetes. He lost consciousness. He had severe hypoglycemia. Wouldn't you agree with me that medical treatment should have been provided to him? He was denied.
Secretary Kristi Noem: Senator, medical treatment is provided to individuals in our detention centers --
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Well, it wasn’t for him. Wouldn’t you agree that was wrong?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Within 12 hours, they have a medical examination, and we get them the prescriptions and medications that they need. They also have a full evaluation, including --
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Will you commit to take action and to look into why he was denied medical treatment?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Yes, I will look into that case specifically for you, Senator.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Marimar Martinez is with us as well. She is standing right behind you. She was on her way to donate clothing at her church when she came across an unmarked car. The agents sideswiped her car. Three masked agents in camouflage stormed out. One of them pulled out his gun and fired at her moving vehicle, hitting her five times. She almost bled to death. Wouldn't you agree that shooting Marimar Martinez, a United States citizen from Chicago, on her way to donate clothing at her church is wrong?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Sir, I don’t know the situation or the case. I’ll look into it to ensure that all the procedures were followed properly.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Well, I’m glad you’ll look into it. Marimar, by the way, was falsely charged with impeding law enforcement, but the case actually fell apart. The judge dismissed it as being trumped up. He dismissed it with prejudice. In fact, the agent who shot her—I’m not going to name him, but you know who he is—was quoted on social media the day or so afterward, and he said, “I fired five rounds, and she had seven holes. Put that in your book, boys” and “Cool, I'm up for another round of f--- around and find out.” Will you join me in condemning that agent?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Sir, that situation I don’t know the details of, but I will look into that.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: I don’t
know why you can't join me in saying it was wrong to shoot Marimar,
almost cause her death, and then brag about it.
Wouldn’t you agree with me that it was wrong?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Sir, the way that you have portrayed it, it appears to be, but let me look at the case so I can speak to the specifics of it.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Apparently, contrary to what you just said, you actually supported the agent who shot Ms. Martinez five times. He is quoted as saying, when he was asked, “Everyone has been supportive, including Chief Bovino, Chief Banks, Secretary Noem, and El Jefe himself,” referring presumably to President Trump. Is the agent who shot Ms. Martinez still on the job?
Secretary Kristi Noem: Sir, our law enforcement officers conduct operations every day according to procedures and training and experience they have. Whenever something is not done properly --
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Is the agent who shot Ms. Martinez still on the job, carrying a gun?
Secretary Kristi Noem: I don’t know the details. I will find out and get that information to you.
Senator Richard Blumenthal: Would you agree that he shouldn’t be on the job?
Secretary Kristi Noem: I will look into this case and get back to you on the details. I’m not familiar with it.
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