Grand Junction police arrest then release Mesa County Election Clerk Tina Peters

MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Officers with the Grand Junction Police Department took Mesa County's Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters briefly into custody while executing a search warrant.

Peters was taken into police custody then released at the scene Tuesday.

According to 9News, officers were serving a warrant to seize Peters' iPad. She's suspected of improperly recording a Monday court hearing involving her deputy clerk after a judge prohibited recording in the courtroom.

While Peters denies the accusation, 9News reports an arrest warrant says "the iPadOS camera application was open, distinguishable with the red record button" and that an observer "saw that the view in the viewfinder was a live view of the courtroom."

Her Tuesday arrest is separate from the investigation into a security breach involving Mesa County's election equipment. In January, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubenstein announced a grand jury was taking up allegations of election tampering involving Peters.

If found guilty of recording a court hearing, Peters could face felony attempt to influence a public servant.