Macomb County election clerk says Genevieve Peters, who urged protesters ‘forward’ on Jan. 6, is now engaged in ‘training and teaching.’
A social media influencer who implored a crowd to “storm the gates” of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been hired by a Michigan county clerk as the “talent development specialist” working with poll workers in one of the battleground state’s biggest swing regions, according to an email obtained by POLITICO.
The talent-development official, Genevieve Peters, also joined armed members of the Proud Boys for a 2020 rally at the Michigan Capitol and live-streamed a “Stop the Steal” protest outside the home of Michigan’s secretary of state. She has made numerous social media posts of herself mingling with Proud Boys including marching alongside its leader, Joe Biggs, according to social media postings by citizen journalists tracking extremists including Chad Loder, whose work to identify Jan. 6 participants has been cited in at least one Department of Justice charging document.
Peters, a Michigan native who has also lived in California, videotaped herself vowing Jan. 6 was “only the beginning.” Peters has not been charged with any crime related to the Capitol riot.
Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, a Republican, told POLITICO Peters was hired in May to help recruit poll workers. She applied for a position that was newly created in response to concerns of city clerks about staffing shortages ahead of the November midterm elections that include races for governor, secretary of state and attorney general, he said.
Forlini said he is aware Peters attended the Jan. 6 protests. What she may have done “in her personal life” predates her work in his office, he said, noting he did not interview her himself. On her LinkedIn page, Peters lists having served for six years as a contract election supervisor in Los Angeles County, including training election inspectors and supervising polling preparations and training over polling staff.
“Genevieve is a part of looking at training procedures since most of her background is teaching and training, so just getting material together that’s more easily understood,” he said. “The clerks are thankful we’re coming up with a better curriculum. We’re helping them recruit and train poll workers,” said Forlini, estimating he is hitting his target of an equal mix of Democrat and Republican poll workers throughout the county.
Forlini also said workers are being trained “off state material” by county election director Mike Grix. Contacted by POLITICO, Jake Rollow, spokesman for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said the office is aware of Peters’ appointment and monitoring the situation, including “the potential challenges that may arise from it.”
Peters has not responded to multiple messages left on her work email, beginning on Friday, and phone number, which includes a recording identifying her name and title. Much of Peters’ selfie-style video footage has been removed from her Facebook page, but not before it was archived by individuals participating in a “Sedition Hunters” consortium keeping records on a Jan. 6 evidence web page.
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A Michigan county has hired Genevieve Peters — a "Stop the Steal" ringleader who urged protestors to "move forward' on Jan. 6 — to recruit poll workers in one of the state's biggest swing regions.https://t.co/LC1DjOynrV
— POLITICO (@politico) October 13, 2022
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