Colorado governor commutes sentence of election denier Tina Peters | US news
Colorado governor Jared Polis commuted the nearly nine-year prison sentence of a former Colorado clerk who allowed unauthorized people to access his county’s voting systems in a case that has focused heavily on Donald Trump and other allies trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Tina Peters, currently detained, will be released on parole on June 1 after Police reduced her sentence from eight-and-a-half years to approximately four-and-a-half years. “This is a highly unusual and lengthy sentence for a first-time offender committing non-violent crimes,” police wrote in a release. letter of forgiveness To Peters.
Peters, a former clerk in Mesa County in western Colorado, was convicted in 2024 of four felonies and three misdemeanors. in 2021, allowed A former professional surfer named Conan Hayes will access and clone the county’s voting equipment and participate in a precision upgrade of the county’s voting software.
Jena Griswold, Colorado’s top election official, said Polis’ decision “confirms Trump’s most basic impulses and emboldens this lawless president.”
“He has now learned how far he must push and threaten the state of Colorado to get what he wants. Mercy will also embolden the voter rejection movement across the country and leave a dark, dangerous mark on American democracy for years to come,” he said. “You may hear suggestions that this pardon aligns Tina Peters’ sentence with the scope of her crimes. In fact, it is special treatment. Rather than waiting for Peters to face heat in the courts as instructed by the Court of Appeal, she will be released from prison in the coming weeks.”
Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado Clerks Association, said the group was “outraged, disgusted and deeply disappointed by the governor’s decision.”
“We are starting to hear signals from election officials around the country that this is the start of open season for our elections and election officials,” he said.
Griswold said he learned of Polis’ decision about 45 minutes before it was made public.
Hayes has been linked to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of the most prominent figures spreading misinformation about the 2020 election and trying to overturn it. Sensitive passwords and other information That vote, taken from Mesa County’s Dominion-built voting equipment, was later posted online by right-wing figures.
The judge sentenced Peters to eight-and-a-half years and six months in prison. “You are not a hero,” Judge Matthew Barrett said when sentencing Peters in 2024. “You are a charlatan who used and still uses his previous position in office to sell snake oil that has been proven time and time again to be junk.”
But the appeals court overturned that sentence in April and ordered the judge to reconsider the sentence.
Trump, who continues to spread misinformation about Dominion and the 2020 election, has repeatedly called for Peters to be released. HE issued a federal amnesty I thanked Peters last year, but the effort was largely symbolic since Peters is in prison for state crimes. HE He also instructed The Justice Department is trying to release Peters from prison.
“God bless Tina Peters, who is now 73 years old in Colorado Maximum Security Prison for two years out of nine, sick for the “crime” of trying to stop the massive voter fraud going on in her State (where people are leaving in record numbers!).” he sent Last year at Truth Social.
“Hard to wish him a Happy Birthday, but to the Nasty Governor and the disgusting “Republican” (RINO!) Prosecutor who did this to him (Nothing would happen to the Dems and their fake Mail Voting System that would make it impossible for a Republican to win an otherwise winnable State!), I only wish them the worst.”
Polis, a Democrat serving his second term as governor, had been tight-lipped for months about a possible pardon for Peters. However on March 3gave a strong signal that he was inclined to do so. In a post on social media, he compared Peters’ case to that of former state senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis. Lewis was sentenced Sending fake letters to the legislature during an investigation into whether he mistreated staff.
Both Lewis and Peters had overlapping charges of attempting to influence a public official, but Lewis was sentenced to probation and community service. “Justice needs to be administered equally in Colorado and America, you never know when you’ll have to rely on the rule of law. I use that context when evaluating cases like this with sentencing disparities,” Polis said.
But officials in Colorado said it wasn’t fair to compare the two cases. Election officials also warned that removing Peters would send the wrong message to those who interfere with the election.
“Beyond commonality, it is not accurate to suggest that the actions or impacts of Peters and Sonya Jaquez Lewis were the same,” Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, said in a statement at the time.
“Peters orchestrated the breach of election equipment, broke the public trust, and attacked the foundations of our democratic process,” Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement. “His actions are still being used to undermine the 2026 election. He should not be given special treatment by the governor, and his statement is shocking and concerning.”
Dan Rubinstein, the district attorney who prosecuted Peters, stated that sentencing ranges allow two people convicted of the same charge to receive different sentences.
“The same crime can be committed in very different ways and have very different consequences,” he said in the statement. “While the governor has the legal authority to commute a sentence, doing so here would be a gross injustice to the affected citizens I represent,” he said in a statement earlier this month.
