Eyes On RVCA Co-Founder Conan Hayes As Partner-In-Crime, Tina Peters, Convicted In Election Computer Breach

Conan Hayes, the talented Hawaiian goofyfoot from the Momentum Generation who finished 13th on the Championship Tour in 1996 and later co-founded RVCA with Pat Tenore in 1999, has found himself embroiled in Trump election intrigue once again after his associate, Tina Peters, was convicted on multiple charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

Originally from Kona on the Big Island, Hayes wrapped up his CT career in 1997 after 62 CT appearances. In 2001, Hayes co-founded ‘action-sports boutique’ brand RVCA, cashing out $7.5M in equity in 2010 following its acquisition by Billabong. Following RVCA’s success, Conan changed tack dramatically and began importing children’s toys, operating out of a warehouse in LA. Quite the departure from surfing, he told Surfer in a 2012 interview.

“No one knows what I’m doing now,” he laughs. “I’ve always had a busy mind, and I just kind of fell into this. Going outside of surf was cool. It was starting from scratch. It wasn’t like, ‘I’m a pro surfer, I did this or that.’ I didn’t leverage any relationships, and I like that.”

Soon after, Hayes faded from the public eye, avoiding the limelight that had once followed him as a professional surfer and serial entrepreneur. However, his quiet life took a dramatic turn when he became involved in the far-right conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential election.

As allegations of voter fraud swirled around the country, fueled by claims from prominent figures like My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, Hayes found himself deeply entrenched in the movement. Under the anonymous Twitter handle @we_have_risen, Hayes began to spread unfounded theories about rigged voting machines and election fraud, amassing a significant following among conspiracy theorists.

His involvement reached a critical point when he aligned himself with a group of pro-Trump activists seeking to challenge the legitimacy of the election results. This group, including former Colorado clerk Tina Peters, aimed to expose what they believed was a massive cover-up. Peters, who was recently convicted on several charges related to a breach of her county’s election computer system, played a pivotal role in enabling Hayes’s actions.

Peters was found guilty of using another individual’s security badge to grant Hayes access to the Mesa County election system during a software update in May 2021. Hayes, posing as a county employee, used the badge to make copies of the election system’s hard drive. These actions were part of a broader effort to uncover supposed evidence of voter fraud, which they believed would prove that the election had been stolen from Donald Trump.

CNN reports: The jury found Peters guilty of multiple charges, including attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and official misconduct. Although she was acquitted on charges of identity theft, the evidence presented at trial painted a troubling picture of how Hayes and Peters conspired to subvert election security for their own purposes.”

Prosecutors argued that Peters, driven by a desire for fame and fixated on the idea of election fraud, betrayed her duty to protect the integrity of the voting process. They contended that Hayes, far removed from his days of surfing glory, played a crucial role in this betrayal by accessing confidential voter information and sharing it with a group of conspiracy theorists.

Probs more to come.