Arrest warrant issued for Tina Peters over bond violation

The Fruita Police Department issued an arrest warrant for embattled Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on July 21. According to a police affidavit, Peters violated the current conditions of her bond by contacting at least one employee at the Mesa County Clerk and Recorders Office.

The affidavit states Peters sent an email to eight state employees at around 2:45 a.m. on July 20. Per her bond, she is forbidden to communicate with employees at that office, and she is the subject of a restraining order prohibiting that communication.

A recipient of that email called police. The email addressed hand recounts of the recent June primary election in different counties. Peters allegedly told the employees, "if you are on th elist of those counties for a hand recount, you will be notified to coordinate the day/time that is mutually agreed upon. Thank you for your kind cooperation."

"I sent out a courtesy email, a blanket email to all the clerks in the state. OK, it just so happened it just happened to include one elected official in Mesa County," she told CBS News Colorado on Thursday.

This past week, Peters and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Hanks sent formal requests for recounts of their races. They say there are irregularities. 

The Colorado Secretary of State's office said a recount will cost $236,000 for each candidate. As of July 15, the deadline for the office to receive the money, neither candidate had paid. 

Peters recently faced a judge for a separate bond violation prompting an arrest warrant when she traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time, the judge expressed his displeasure with Peters and her attorneys. They claim her travel request never got passed on, but Peters thought it had been approved.

In the end, that previous warrant was lifted.