Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted the sentence of Tina Peters on Friday, a former county clerk convicted of tampering with election equipment, effective June 1. The Democrat's decision follows a state appeals court ruling last month that found Peters' nine-year prison term excessive and ordered her to be resentenced.
Peters was sentenced in August 2024 after conviction on four felonies and three misdemeanors for using another person's security badge to grant access to county election machinery to someone associated with MyPillow founder Mike Lindell. The breach of Mesa County's election equipment resulted in the release of sensitive data online, including passwords, forcing the replacement of the county's voting machines.
The appeals court panel determined that the trial judge improperly weighed Peters' beliefs about fraudulent elections when imposing her sentence, violating her First Amendment rights. The judges emphasized that Peters' crime was her deceptive conduct, not her stated conviction that the 2020 election was stolen. "Her offense was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud," the court wrote. They also noted Peters no longer held public office and therefore could not repeat the conduct that led to her conviction.
Peters' case had drawn significant attention from President Donald Trump, who repeatedly posted "Free Tina Peters" on his social media platform and attacked Polis as a "sleazebag" who should "rot in hell" for not using his clemency power. Polis stated in January that he believed Peters' sentence was "harsh" but insisted he would not allow presidential pressure to drive his clemency decisions. "You look at every case on clemency on the merits," he told CBS News.
The governor shifted course in March, signaling a potential commutation after noting that a Democratic politician had received a much shorter sentence for a similar offense. "Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly," Polis wrote on X. Peters' attorney, Peter Ticktin, said at the time that he hoped the governor would commute the sentence that week, arguing there was no reason to keep Peters imprisoned.
At her 2024 sentencing, the Mesa County District Attorney sought the maximum penalty, highlighting that despite Peters' claims of widespread fraud, she never produced evidence of a single fraudulent vote. County officials stated that Peters' fraud allegations triggered numerous death threats against election workers.
Peters maintained her innocence throughout the proceedings. At sentencing, she told the judge she acted to protect Mesa County residents. "It is with a heavy heart that I hear the vile accusations and anger levied against me for what I did to protect the people of Mesa County," she said.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Polis caved to the merits argument, but the timing and his earlier refusals make clear this was always about pressure, not principle."
Comments