Trump Pressure Frees Tina Peters After Sentence Commuted

Tina Peters, a former Mesa County elections clerk convicted of participating in an election conspiracy scheme, was released from prison Monday after President Donald Trump successfully pressured Colorado Governor Jared Polis to commute her sentence. The 70-year-old served less than two years of her nine-year sentence.

The release came following a lengthy pressure campaign by Trump against Polis and the state. The governor commuted Peters' sentence on May 15, stating that although she was convicted of serious crimes, the original sentence was 'extremely unusual and lengthy' for a first-time non-violent offender.

Peters was the first local election official to be charged with breaching security after the 2020 election. She allowed an outside computer expert affiliated with My Pillow Chief Executive Mike Lindell to copy the county's Dominion Voting Systems server during an update in 2021. This action led to false claims that voting machines were manipulated.

Peters was convicted in 2024 of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and violation of duty. An appeals court upheld her conviction but ordered resentencing due to the original judge's error in punishing her for speaking out about election fraud.

In an interview with Steve Bannon shortly after her release, Peters reiterated baseless claims that voting machines were tampered with during the 2020 presidential election. 'I know that the Democrats are going to cheat, and no one is really addressing the problem that I spent my time in prison as retribution for,' she said. 'And that was exposing the election machines that allowed the votes to be flipped.'

Countless lawsuits, audits, and recounts have failed to substantiate any illegal voting activity that would have affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Trump lost by more than 7 million votes. The lie that voting machines were tampered with was also exhaustively scrutinized in court. Dominion Voting Systems, one of the companies falsely accused by Trump and his allies, sued Fox News for $1.6 billion in defamation and ultimately settled the suit for $787 million.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold criticized Polis' decision to commute Peters' sentence. 'This grant of clemency sends a dangerous message,' she wrote in an op-ed published days before Peters’ release. 'And it risks leaving a lasting mark, not just on Colorado but on the broader effort to defend free and fair elections.'

Following her release, Peters continued to spread election falsehoods and conspiracies. In an interview with Steve Bannon's podcast, she listed several places where Democrats have either won elections or made headway, claiming that 'the Democrats are going to cheat.' She also mentioned writing letters to Trump thanking him for his help.

Peters' remarks quickly prompted backlash from Democratic candidates for governor. State Senator Michael Bennet criticized Peters, stating that her actions were not indicative of remorse but rather a continuation of spreading false claims about Colorado elections.