DENVER (AP) 鈥� Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters following pressure from President Donald Trump, the latest instance of the president using his powers to reward those who echoed his baseless claims of mass fraud as the cause of his 2020 loss.
Trump has championed the case of Peters, a 70-year-old former county clerk who was sentenced to nine years behind bars in a scheme to make a copy of her county鈥檚 election computer system. She gets released June 1.
In April, a Colorado appeals court upheld her conviction but ordered Peters to be resentenced because it said the judge who sent her to prison wrongly punished her for speaking out about election fraud, a decision that Polis praised.
In a letter to Peters, Polis wrote that Peters was convicted of serious crimes and deserved to spend time in prison. 鈥淗owever, this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes,鈥� the governor wrote.
He added Peters’ application 鈥渄emonstrates taking responsibility for your crimes, and a commitment to follow the law going forward.鈥�
President Donald Trump posted around the time of the announcement on his Truth Social platform: 鈥淔REE TINA!鈥�
鈥楢ffront to the rule of law鈥�
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said 鈥渋t was a dark day for democracy鈥� and 鈥漵elling out our state鈥檚 justice system for Trump is an affront to the rule of law.鈥�
鈥淎 clear message is being sent to those willing to break the law and attack democracy for the president 鈥� they will likely not face consequences for their actions,鈥� Griswold said at a news conference.
Peters has been serving at a prison in Pueblo after being convicted in 2024 by jurors in Mesa County, a Republican stronghold that supported Trump.
Peters snuck in an outside computer expert, an associate of , to make a copy of her county鈥檚 Dominion Voting Systems election computer server as state officials updated it in 2021. After Peters joined Lindell onstage at a 鈥渃ybersymposium鈥� that promised to reveal proof of election rigging, video and photos of the upgrade, including passwords, were posted online.
After the commutation, Peters issued a statement through her attorney thanking Polis and apologizing.
鈥淔ive years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong,鈥� Peters said. 鈥淚 have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past.鈥�
She also condemned threats and violence against voters, county clerks and election workers.
Sen Michael Bennet, a Democrat who is running for Colorado governor, said he vehemently disagreed with the commutation and that Peters knowingly broke the law, undermined elections and was convicted by a jury.
鈥淟awlessness only breeds more lawlessness,鈥� Bennet said. “With President Trump continuing to attack Colorado, we must do everything we can to stand strong for our institutions and the rule of law.鈥�
Trump championed her cause
Peters was convicted of state, not federal, crimes, which put her beyond the reach of Trump鈥檚 pardon power that he used to free those convicted of on the U.S. Capitol. But the president still championed her cause.
Trump has lambasted both Polis, calling him a 鈥淪cumbag Governor,鈥� and the Republican district attorney who prosecuted her, Daniel Rubinstein, for keeping Peters in prison. He has referred to Peters, as 鈥渆lderly鈥� and 鈥渟ick.鈥� Earlier this year, Trump uninvited Polis from with governors over the case.
The president said Colorado was 鈥渟uffering a big price鈥� for refusing to release her. His administration has been , ending federal programs and . It also announced the dismantling of the in Colorado and the U.S. Space Command to Alabama.
Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the commutation 鈥渟ignals that it is open season on our election and election officials.鈥�
鈥淕ov. Polis is bending the knee to the same political voices and conspiracy theories that are undermining belief in our democratic institutions,鈥� Crane said. 鈥淭his is now Gov. Polis鈥� legacy. He will not be able to run from it.鈥�
Tina Peters’ declining health in prison
Peters鈥� lawyers have said her health has declined in prison. Peters, who had part of her right lung removed in 2017, started coughing frequently after the prison鈥檚 heating system was turned on for the winter and has had trouble sleeping on her mattress because of chronic pain from fibromyalgia, her lawyers said.
In January, Peters was involved in a scuffle with another inmate but was found not guilty of assault following a prison disciplinary hearing, Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia said. Peters was found guilty of being in a location without authorization.
The federal Bureau of Prisons to get Peters moved to a federal prison. But in January, Polis said he was considering granting clemency for Peters, calling her sentence 鈥渦nusual and harsh鈥� for a first-time, nonviolent offender. In March he in a lengthy post on the social media platform X.
鈥淛ustice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly,鈥� Polis wrote.
After receiving blowback from other top Democratic leaders in the state, including the attorney general and Colorado鈥檚 top elections official, Polis told a Denver television station that Peters would have to show 鈥渁ppropriate contrition, apology鈥� to be considered for clemency.
In contrast to some other Democratic governors, Polis, who prides himself on being a political iconoclast, has taken toward Trump. While he criticized Trump鈥檚 stance on tariffs and immigration, Polis praised earlier moves by the president such as the Department of Government Efficiency, run by billionaire Elon Musk, and the nomination of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Service.
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