President Trump on Thursday issued a full pardon to former Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted in August 2024 on multiple state charges related to election interference.
“Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the ‘crime’ of demanding Honest Elections,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!”
The pardon follows months of pressure from Trump on Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) to release Peters, at times warning of “harsh measures” if the state refused to intervene. Peters was ultimately sentenced to nine years in state prison, where her attorneys say she faced several attacks from other inmates.
“This lightweight Governor, who has allowed his State to go to hell (Tren de Aragua, anyone?), should be ashamed of himself,” Trump wrote online in early December. “FREE TINA!”
Last month, the Trump administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons asked the Colorado Department of Corrections to transfer Peters into federal custody, a request the state denied. Earlier in December, Trump again urged Colorado officials to release Peters, noting her history as a cancer survivor.
What Led to Tina Peters’s Conviction
Peters rose to national prominence in pro-Trump circles after the 2020 presidential election, becoming one of the most outspoken local officials promoting election-fraud conspiracy theories. In May 2021, she allowed unauthorized individuals—including a man working with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell—to access secure Mesa County election equipment during a software update.
Prosecutors said Peters stole a county employee’s security badge to facilitate that breach. Images and data taken from the county’s voting machines were later leaked online and prominently featured at Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium,” where he claimed—without evidence—that the 2020 election was stolen.
Colorado investigators determined the breach compromised the county’s voting systems, forcing the state to replace equipment at taxpayer expense and prompting criminal charges.
In 2024, Peters was convicted on seven counts, including four felony charges related to cyber intrusion, identity theft, and official misconduct. A jury found that her actions directly violated election security protocols and undermined public trust in the county’s voting systems.
Colorado Officials Criticize Trump’s Intervention
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) sharply criticized the pardon, arguing that it intrudes on the state’s constitutional authority.
“Our system of government gives states authority to run their own criminal justice systems. As you noted, there was a trial, there was a conviction by a jury, there’s an appeal to the state courts,” Weiser said on 9News’s Next with Kyle Clark.
“All that is happening under the rule of law,” he continued. “This president doesn’t respect the rule of law, but he doesn’t have authority to undermine how we operate our judicial system here in Colorado.”
