Tag: Lies

Why we keep hearing about a gang “takeover” in Aurora

Fox News helped spread the lie being promoted by former President Trump and MAGA extremists that Venezuelan gangs were “taking over Colorado”

Message from Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper, September 26, 2024:

You’ve probably been hearing nonstop from conservative media and MAGA Republicans, including Donald Trump, that Aurora has been “taken over” by Venezuelan gangs. You might be confused why this information continues to spread even though it has repeatedly¹ been² proven³ false. You might also be wondering what the truth is – the actual ground truth stripped of the politics.

I wouldn’t blame you. This whole thing has been a confusing mess with plenty of misinformation. So let’s look at the facts without the games.

Paonia’s High Country Shopper under fire for running outrageous, false political ad

Ad that ran in June 12, 2024 edition of the classified ad paper the High Country Shopper

Delta County residents are up in arms about a display ad that appeared on Page 20 of the June 12 edition of the High Country Shopper, a weekly newspaper published in Paonia that runs classified ads and promotes local businesses.

The ad, which is a departure from the norm for the Shopper, shows a photo of President Biden among an array photos of fascist dictators who have “had their opponents arrested,” including Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Fidel Castro, Stalin and others. The ad was paid for by Cedaredge resident Wes Fisher.

Where could someone get such a misleading idea as this?

Mesa County Public Library to offer class on how to tell good sources from bad on the internet

The Mesa County Central Library will hold a very important 90 minute class Monday, June 24 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. on how to evaluate online sources for credibility and authoritativeness to help boost internet users’ ability to tell fact from fiction.

This class is sorely needed in Mesa County, especially by Republican local elected officials who have demonstrated a lack in the ability to tell  credible sources of information from websites that peddle lies and false information to readers.

In 2020, Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland displayed a chilling inability to tell fact from fiction after she publicly promoted the Infowars conspiracy theory that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control was intentionally inflating the number of Covid deaths. Rowland wrote on her her social media that hospitals were being pressured to inflate the numbers of Covid deaths because it meant they would get more funding. The truth is that hospitals make money by treating people, not by listing specific causes of deaths on death certificates. At the time, Rowland’s false theory was being promoted by Laura Ingraham of Fox News — one of Rowland’s most frequently-cited news sources. Fox News has a reputation for knowingly

Stephen D. Daniels, Janet Rowland-appointed Chair of the Mesa County Board of Public Health, is a prodigious spreader of disinformation on social media, including about vaccines and gender issues, without citing credible sources. (Photo: Mesa County)

telling lies to the public.

Rowland’s new Director of the Mesa County Board of Public Health, Stephen D. Daniels, is also prodigious spreader of lies and disinformation on his social media. His posts target a wide range of subjects including the U.S. Department of Justice, gender issues, religion and the efficacy and safety of vaccines, including ideas spread by anti-vaxx presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claimed that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack caucasians and Black people, and to spare Jews.

Janet Rowland, whose college degree is a bachelor in Bible studies, is running for a 4th term as County Commissioner, after lying to the public on her social media about Covid topics and never apologizing to the public for spreading disinformation. (Photo: Janet Rowland campaign website)

In 2019, while still a State Senator, Ray Scott cited a full-on wacko nutbag information source in a tweet about climate change in which he wrote “NASA admits that climate change occurs because of changes in Earth’s solar orbit, and NOT because of SUVs and fossil fuels.” To support his claim, Scott cited an article published on a website called “NaturalNews.com.”  NaturalNews.com had been discredited as an off-the-wall, full-on wacko conspiracy website and was rated #1 on the list of the Top Ten Worst Anti-Science Websites. Scott also said that studies about climate change made no sense and that we “have better things to do” than to address the crisis.

Let’s hope some of these Republican elected officials attend this talk.

Former State Senator Ray Scott cited a full-on wacko website as a source of information on climate change in 2019. The site was rated #1 on a list of the top ten worst anti-science websites.

New York jury convicts Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records

A New York jury has found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records in his so-called “hush money trial” about payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet in the run-up to the 2016 election. He is the first U.S. President to be convicted of  felony crimes.

Trump will be sentenced July 11 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time by Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case.

Republican CD-3 candidate Jeff Hurd straight-up lies in new TV ad

Scene from a new Jeff Hurd ad titled “Fight for American Energy” that’s running on local TV

We had hoped that maybe Jeff Hurd, a home-grown Grand Junction Republican running to represent Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in Washington, D.C., might be a slightly more honest politician than we’ve had in the CD-3 office for several years now, but Hurd just disappointed us all.

He put out a new TV ad two days ago in which he straight-up lies to viewers.

Hurd casts himself as a strong proponent of fossil fuels in the ad, showing piles of coal and people filling up their cars at gas pumps. But he lies to viewers right out of the gate by making a false claim that “Biden is waging war on American energy.”

Whether we like it or not, that’s hardly the case.

Janet Rowland says she’ll “fight for the truth” while having a history of being untruthful herself in the local media

Janet Rowland’s March 28 Instagram post touting her devotion to “the truth.”

County Commissioner Janet Rowland (R), in a campaign plug she posted March 28 on her VoteJanetRowland Instagram page, says she “will always fight for the truth, even when the media presents the facts in a way that distorts the truth.”

But even as Janet denigrates the local media as untruthful, we must remember an episode in 2007 when Janet deceived the public herself by using local media.

Making it worse is the fact that even after it was exposed, she’s never taken responsibility for it, or apologized for it.

Shortly after losing statewide election for lieutenant governor as Bob Beauprez’s running mate in 2006, while she was previously Mesa County Commissioner, Janet was a columnist for the Grand Junction Free Press, at the time a competing newspaper to the Daily Sentinel. She wrote several columns for the Free Press under her own name until one day a sharp reader spotted the fact that Janet had been lifting the text of her columns word for word from government pamphlets, and brought this to the attention of the Free Press’s editor.

Relative of Tina Peters calls her “vile” in 2/28/24 Daily Sentinel article

Tina Peters and her financial benefactor Mike Lindell, the My Pillow CEO

In a February 28, 2024 article in the Daily Sentinel about a lawsuit against Tina Peters in which she is accused of stealing her ex-husband’s house (pdf) by converting the deed to her own name while she was county clerk, Sentinel reporter Charles Ashby interviewed Tina’s former brother in law, Jack Peters, whose brother, Thomas, died December 31, 2023. Tina and Thomas Peters were married for 36 years.

Jack Peters describes himself as “extremely conservative” and says he believes there might be election fraud going on, but says Tina “is unfairly using her former husband and her deceased son, Remington, to gain sympathy in her criminal case in order to gather legal defense money. Remington, the couple’s only son, died in a 2017 parachute accident as a Navy seal performing at an air show in New York City,” the Sentinel writes.

‘I’ve always been a bit at odds with Tina, she’s always been somewhat abrasive,’ Jack Peters said. ‘My brother-in-law John and my sister Kathy are being unjustly persecuted by this vile woman.’      —The Daily Sentinel

Mesa County GOP official decries her party’s continued support of Tina Peters and Donald Trump

Mesa County Republican Party Secretary Terry Porter stood up to Colorado Republican Party Chair Dave Williams, saying his support of Tina Peters and Donald Trump is making  “too many of us ashamed of being a Republican in Colorado right now.”

Mesa County Republicans may be starting to see the harm they are doing to their party and America by continuing to support Tina Peters, Donald Trump and others like them.

On February 2, shortly before Tina Peters’ criminal trial was about to start, Colorado Republican Party Chair Dave Williams sent a mass email out to Colorado Republicans telling them to “Keep Tina Peters in your prayers while she fights the establishment and our corrupt judicial system in her upcoming trial which will begin on February 9th in Mesa County.” He called the criminal charges against Peters “retaliation, persecution, and prosecution for preserving our election records and exposing the fraud inside the machines.”

That email drew quick pushback from Republicans across the state, including former Secretaries of State and current and former Republican county clerks. It also drew a sharp rebuke from Mesa County Republican Party Secretary Terry Porter.

Porter quickly emailed Williams back and included Colorado GOP Vice Chair Hope Scheppelman and Secretary Anna Ferguson in the thread, saying:

CO Republican Party Chair praises Tina Peters, gets pushback from GOP members & former Mesa County GOP Chair Kevin McCarney

Dave Williams

In a mass email to members of the Colorado GOP on Feb. 2,  Colorado Republican Party Chair Dave Williams praised Tina Peters for “fighting the establishment and our corrupt judicial system.” He wrote that the charges against her were “retaliation, persecution, and prosecution for preserving our election records and exposing the fraud inside the machines” and said Tina has “risked so much to expose the fraud by doing her job as a county clerk…”  He concluded by saying that “We must all unite in prayer and support for Tina Peters so that the jury sees this for what it really is and acquits her of all charges.” Williams added, “We are praying for you, dear Tina. You are loved and appreciated by all.” [All Italicized emphasis in original.]

No proof of fraud has been found in Colorado’s or Mesa County’s elections.

The letter drew immediate pushback from a long list of prominent Colorado Republicans including former Republican secretaries of state. According to a February 6 article in Colorado Newsline by Sharon Sullivan, the written response to Williams said,

Tina Peters’ final effort to delay her criminal trial fails; trial to be livestreamed on WesternSlopeNow.com

Tina Peters in her final show on Rumble.com on January 29, 2024 (Screenshot: Rumble.com)

In a three page order issued Monday, February 5, (pdf) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit denied Tina Peters’ motion for an injunction to halt her upcoming criminal trial, set to start at 9:00 a.m. this Friday, February 9 in the Mesa County Justice Center, Courtroom 9. 

Tina’s trial will be live-streamed by KREX-TV on their website, WesternSlopeNow.com.

In the most recent episode of her internet TV show, The Tina Peters Show, on Rumble.com, Tina continues to say she won her 2022 Republican primary election against Pam Anderson for Secretary of State, but “lost” the race due to election tampering. Anderson got 43.1% of the vote and Tina got 28.9%. A recount, paid for by donations to Tina, confirmed her loss by over 14%.

Tina also tells her followers that the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel “has run over 700 front page, above-the-fold articles lying about me” adding, “Whatever happened to good media, where you could write them and get a retraction, get an apology?” She continues to say without proof that “there’s illegal software in voting machines and they are connected to the internet.,” and  the candidates who won the April 6, 2021 G.J. city election “couldn’t possibly have won.”

Tina Peters remains defiant, now portrays her criminal case as war on Christians

Many defendants who are facing an imminent trial on criminal charges might start showing remorse and contrition, but not former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

In a rambling 27 minute interview on rumble.com on “The Matthew Dark Show” on December 13, former Mesa county Clerk Tina Peters continues to be defiant, insisting publicly that she did nothing wrong or illegal as Clerk when she copied voting machine hard drives and exposed the information at an election denier conference. She says what she did was required as part of her job, that she’s a whistleblower, what she did was “totally legal” and she’s being persecuted politically just because she’s trying to “tell the truth.”

At 6:09 in the video, she says her legal battles have nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans, and says,

“They’re coming after Christians. They’re coming after our Constitution. And when I say ‘they,’ these are global elitists that want to take down America because they cannot do what they want to do for a one world government until they do that.”

Tina Peters has filed to run for Colorado Secretary of State in 2026, but may be using it to defray her personal expenses of being a professional election denier


In the above interview posted on Rumble.com on 9/18/23 for the Clay Clark ReAwaken America tour, Tina Peters lies and tells viewers she won the 2020 election for Colorado Secretary of State.  “The Reawaken America tour is a series of controversial far-right conferences held across the United States featuring prominent QAnon influencers, anti-vaxx activists, election fraud conspiracy theorists, Christian pastors, political candidates and elected officials,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
———–
Indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has filed to run for Secretary of State in Colorado in 2026, and as of July 23, 2023 had almost $305,000 in the bank for her campaign, according to Colorado Tracer, the online campaign finance reporting system.

Tina has not publicly stated she has an active campaign for Colorado Secretary of State in 2026, but that has not stopped her from listing campaign expenses for it.

But filing to run for SOS in 2026 looks more like it may be a tactic Tina is using to defray her personal costs of being a darling of the election denier cult while she awaits her criminal trial next February.

Buell Theater surveillance video shows Boebert vaping & giving an usher the finger as she walked out

House Rep. Lauren Boebert’s campaign manager, Drew Sexton, told the Washington Post in a September 13 article that Boebert wasn’t vaping inside the Buell Theater at a performance of the musical Beetlejuice, as theatergoers around her had told security, but that the appearance of smoke came from “heavy fog machines and electronic cigarettes” used during the show, “so there might have been ‘a misunderstanding from someone sitting near her’.”

But video shows there was no “misunderstanding.”

Sexton lied to the Post.

Vape “smoke” coming out of Boebert’s mouth at the Buell Theater in Denver last Sunday

The video also shows Rep. Boebert giving ushers the middle finger as she was escorted out of the theater:

Boebert flips the bird to theater employees on her way out.

Even the disgraced and indicted former Trump attorney from Colorado, Jenna Ellis, wrote on Twitter that Boebert’s behavior at the theater was “embarrassing and disrespectful behavior from a sitting Congresswoman,” adding, “Good grief, Republicans. Do better.”

Tina Peters is again begging people to pay for her legal defense “to save America.” She’s also encouraging churches to break federal law and promoting jury nullification, which could help keep her out of prison

Tina Peters on Rumble.com on 7/18/2023, telling lies and begging for money

In a July 18, 2023 video posted on Rumble.com — the online video platform right wing extremists turn to after being banned from YouTube and Facebook — indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters optimistically starts off a half hour interview by saying “I always have a smile on my face because I know the best is yet to come.” She explains why she just fired her criminal defense attorney, Harvey Steinberg. She told her attorney,

“If you can’t get me off on two misdemeanors, how are you going to fight seven felonies and three misdemeanors?”

Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland vs. former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters: Lots of similarities

When their behaviors as elected officials are compared, Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland and former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters have more in common than people may realize:

Chart of Janet vs. Tina

Rep. Boebert lies to constituents about missed debt ceiling vote

Despite railing against the debt limit deal for weeks, tweeting against it 23 times and calling the bill “D.C. self-created garbage,” on May 31, 2023 Colorado House Rep. Lauren Boebert missed her chance to vote on the bill.

A CNN reporter caught video of Boebert running up the Capitol steps too late to vote on the bill. As Boebert is dashing up the steps the reporter tells Boebert “It’s closed.” Boebert stops, turns around and says, “It’s closed?” then turns keeps running up the steps.

Red Alert: Janet Rowland appointed to the Mesa County Board of Public Health

Janet Rowland probably did the most damage to current vaccination efforts through her campaign last year where she denigrated masking and embraced Q-Anon conspiracy theories about Covid-19.

Updated 5/6/23 to reflect support for the REOPEN movement by the violent, seditious hate group The Proud Boys, anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists, and the homophobic comments Rowland made on a statewide political TV show in 2006. 

In a move akin to appointing an arsonist as fire chief, Mesa County Commissioners Cody Davis and Bobbie Daniel appointed Commissioner Janet Rowland to the Mesa County Board of Public Health yesterday, Tuesday, April 25.

Rowland has been an outspoken enemy of public health for years.

She fought Covid-19 precautions before vaccines were available and disseminated disinformation about the virus that was linked to QAnon.  Her social media posts promoted the notion that Covid-19 was no more deadly than the flu. She said things on social media about the virus that contradicted public health messages instructing people in how to stay safe and reduce spread of what was then a largely deadly virus.

Tina Peters found guilty of obstructing government operations

After a two day trial, a 6-person jury today found former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters not guilty on the charge of obstructing a peace officer, but guilty on the charge of obstructing government operations. The jury deliberated for about half a day.

The obstruction of government operations charge is a 3rd degree misdemeanor that carries a mandatory sentence of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine.

Peters is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10.