Photo of Tina Peters and Mark Cook appearing on a show with a Constitutional Sheriff
âGot all that but the prying part,â the Elbert County Clerk and Recorder Dallas Schroeder texted Mark Cook and Shawn Smith as he broke into the Elbert Countyâs ImageCast Central ballot scanner on August 26, 2021. âReally donât want to break it.â Mark Cook texted back, âYou are Rocking it,â encouraging Clerk Schroeder to finish the job of making scans of the ballot scannerâs hard drive while also taking pictures of the inside of the voting machine the night before state officials were set to give the system an update before the upcoming November election.
Now, Mark Cook, who coached Schroeder on how to break into the voting machine, is consulting the Custer County Sheriffâs Office on cyber security threats and questions about the countyâs voting machines.
Last week, the Tribune asked Sheriff Smith if âThe Sher- iffâs Office has used or hired anyone associated with Joe Olt- mann, Shawn Smith, or Mark Cook?â If those names sound familiar, it is because the three men are Coloradoâs loudest proponents that election systems in Colorado are fraudulent and that local elections are easily stolen due to the use of digital vote tabulation machines. Cook, in particular, has been extremely vocal about local County Clerks, stating in a recent speech at the Oregon State GOP meeting that âAnd the bad guys can be anyone. It could be the local Clerk if they happen to be a bad person if you have one, or it can be someone in Iran.â Cook headlined a Custer County Commissioners meeting back in May, repeatedly stating that the voter rolls in Custer County are manipulated and implied that Custer County Clerk and Recorder Kelley Camper was suspect.
Now, the Sheriff is consulting with Cook on several matters in Custer County. Smithâs response to the Tribune was, âMark Cook provided a forensic tool to the Sheriffâs office. The tool was used to create forensic images of three
computers in the Sheriffâs office that had been hacked by a cyber attacker. The forensic images will be used as part of the investigation. Iâve also asked Mark Cook to research if states other than Colorado have allowed unvetted and untrained people to access the internal systems of the computers known as voting machines.â It appears that Cook is not receiving payment at the moment.
This past spring, Sheriff Smith met with Joe Oltmann, and a week later met with Mark Cook after a private citizen hired Oltmann to come to deliver a âGideon 300 Trainingâ to locals, including Sheriff Smith. The training, according to Oltmann, is a way for locals to use âpeaceful forceâ against county government to have voting machines removed and implement hand recounts. At the end of the training, Sheriff Smith was given a battle axe, and he pledged to Oltman with a handshake that he would lead his people into battle. Smith later returned the battle axe as it was a gift over the monetary limit for elected officials.
Complicating matters further, on Monday, August 26, the Sheriff executed a search warrant on a county IT worker and seized that personâs equipment, including county equipment used to monitor and control cyber security, claiming the Sheriffâs Office was investigating a cyber security crime.
The Tribune asked Sheriff Smith if Mark Cook would be allowed to use the equipment. The Sheriff claimed Cook would not be allowed to take part in the investigation except, âMark Cook provided a forensic tool to the Sheriffâs office. The tool was used to create forensic images of three comput- ers hard drives that were removed from the computers in the Sheriffâs office that had been hacked by a cyber attacker. The forensic images of the three Sheriffâs office computer hard drives will be used as part of the investigation. Mr. Cook also provided some recommendations about steps to take
during a cyber security incident and steps the county should consider in the future to enhance cyber security.â
The Tribune pressed the Sheriff further: âHow will the public be assured Mark Cook has not already used the devices? How is your office going to guarantee your promises now that the equipment is in your control?â
As of press time on Tuesday, the Sheriff has declined to answer how he will prove to the public that Mark Cook will not be using county equipment or the Sheriffâs Office to break into voting machines like he assisted with in Elbert County in 2021.
Cook has laid out his beliefs before that one way to stop voter tabulation machines is to wipe the voter rolls. âPeople are manipulating our voter rolls. Go look in your rolls, and you will see it. We have to stop this. The only real way we can fix this right now, we cannot piece-meal this to stop it. We need to wipe the voter rolls, have everyone re-register at the county, and we need to vote on paper in person on election day.â
In addition to helping with the Elbert County voting machine break-in, Cook has been a staunch defender of Tina Peters, who was convicted of felony charges in Mesa County for breaking and entering the Dominion voting machines at the same time Schroeder was breaking into the machines in Elbert. While Schoeder was never prosecuted, Tina Peters faces 7-20 years in prison and will be sentenced in October. Cook helps run Tina Peterâs website, which has been collecting donations to pay for her criminal defense. Cook has appeared repeatedly with Peters on podcasts and events and also testified for her during the criminal trial.
The Tribune will continue investigating Cook and the alleged cyber attack at the Sheriffâs Office.
â Jordan Hedberg