trump Demands Release of Colorado Election Official Convicted of Tampering
Denver, CO – Former President Donald Trump is calling for the release of Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk convicted of election security breaches, falsely claiming she was targeted for attempting to expose Democratic election fraud. Trump’s demand, made via his Truth Social platform, comes less than a month after he issued pardons to several allies involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
On Truth Social, Trump labeled Colorado Governor Jared Polis a “SLEAZEBAG” and accused him of refusing to release Peters, who he claimed was “unfairly convicted of what the Democrats do, cheating on Elections.” He further asserted Peters was “preserving Election Records, which she was obligated to do under Federal Law,” and attacked Polis as a “lightweight Governor” who has “allowed his State to go to hell.” Trump concluded his post with “FREE TINA!”
These claims are inaccurate. Peters was convicted in state court of multiple felony counts, including attempting to influence a public official, conspiracy to commit unlawful access to a computerized election system, and failure to fulfill her duty to secure election equipment. The charges stemmed from a security breach in Mesa County’s election system in 2021, where Peters allegedly allowed unauthorized individuals access to voting machine data and shared confidential details online, fueled by conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Peters has served one year of a nine-year sentence.
The case has become a rallying cry for election deniers, who claim Peters was wrongly convicted for exposing vulnerabilities in the election system. However, authorities maintain her actions were a intentional attempt to undermine the integrity of the election process.
Trump’s call for Peters’ release follows his recent pardons of Rudy Giuliani, john Eastman, and others involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. When asked why peters was not included in the pardons,Pardon Attorney Ed Martin responded on X (formerly Twitter),”We are working on it!” It is crucial to note that presidential pardons apply only to federal cases,while Peters was convicted in state court.
As of publication, Governor Polis has not publicly responded to Trump’s post.