DENVER (AP) - A federal magistrate judge on Monday rejected a bid by a former Colorado county clerk to be released from prison while she appeals her state conviction for orchestrating a data breach scheme driven by false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters filed a federal lawsuit asking that she be released on bond while her appeal is considered. Attorneys for the state had argued the case should be thrown out partly because of a legal doctrine that prevents federal courts from getting involved in pending state criminal cases.

Federal magistrate judge Scott Varholak ruled Monday that Peters didn’t make a case that he should get involved in overturning her state sentence.

Peters argued that the magistrate judge should free

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