Colorado governor commutes election denier Tina Peters’ sentence after Trump pressure

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, commuted the nine-year prison sentence of Tina Peters, a former Mesa County clerk convicted of election interference, following pressure from President Trump. Peters, 70, was sentenced in 2024 for allowing an outside expert—linked to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell—to copy her county’s Dominion Voting Systems server during a 2021 update, exposing sensitive election system details. A Colorado appeals court upheld her conviction but ordered resentencing after ruling her original punishment was excessive for a nonviolent first-time offender. Polis defended the commutation in a letter, calling the sentence unusually harsh and noting Peters’ expressed remorse and commitment to following the law. He wrote that while she committed serious crimes, her case warranted clemency. Trump celebrated the decision on his social media platform with the message ‘FREE TINA!’ The move drew sharp criticism from Colorado Democrats, including Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who called it a ‘dark day for democracy’ and warned it emboldens further attacks on elections. Peters, serving time in Pueblo, apologized in a statement for misleading state officials and pledged to avoid past mistakes, though she did not retract her election fraud claims. Polis, term-limited and ineligible for reelection, faced backlash from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Michael Bennet, who condemned the commutation as enabling lawlessness. Peters’ case stems from a 2021 scheme where she shared election system images and passwords online after a ‘cybersymposium’ with Lindell, who had falsely promoted election fraud evidence. The decision underscores ongoing political divisions over election integrity and the influence of Trump’s rhetoric on legal consequences for his allies.