Then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters at her primary election watch party at the Wide Open Saloon in Sedalia on June 28, 2022. (Carl Payne for Colorado Newsline)
The MAGA election denier whose clemency engulfed a Democratic governor in controversy has already started proving detractors correct, according to a report from Politico, as she began spreading a new election conspiracy theory almost immediately after her release from prison.
Tina Peters was a Colorado county clerk convicted on felony charges in 2024 after, among other things, granting unauthorized access to sensitive materials related to the 2020 presidential election, to try to help Donald Trump's allies find evidence that the election was stolen from him. Once he retook office in 2025, he was unable to grant her a pardon, as he did for many allies, due to the fact that her conviction was at the state level — though he did try anyway.
Following months of pressure, Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, approved her request for clemency, citing her lack of prior conviction and the non-violent nature of her offenses. The move was widely condemned by both Democrats, enemies of Trump and legal experts, who warned that the decision could further incentivize individuals to commit crimes that undermine democracy. Polis, who is term-limited and cannot seek reelection, has since been rebuked by his own attorney general and secretary of state, while the Colorado Democratic Party also voted to censure him.
Following her release from prison on Monday, Peters made an appearance on a podcast hosted by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who had been outspoken in his support for her clemency. During the interview, she once again spread election conspiracy theories, alleging that Democrats were plotting to "cheat" in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I see these elections that are taking place in real time: the Mamdanis, the Virginia governor — Spanberger — and then what’s going on in California and Texas and Maine — just all over the country,” Peters said. “And I know that the Democrats are going to cheat, and no one’s really addressing the problem that I spent my time in prison as retribution for, and that was exposing the election machines that allow the votes to be flipped.”
Polis said that while Peters "may continue making claims about elections that I believe are false," he believed that, "in America, people are not sent to prison for expressing political views, however misguided those views may be." This statement did not account for the fact that Peters' charges did not have to do with her beliefs, but the unlawful actions she took that exposed sensitive election materials.
Colorado AG Phil Weiser said that he remains committed to preventing Peters from having her convictions overturned.
“Tina Peters may be free from prison, but she isn’t free from the crimes she committed tampering with her county’s election equipment,” Weiser said in statement to Politico. “She is a convicted felon, and I remain concerned about her conduct upon returning to Mesa County given her lack of remorse for her crimes. I will continue to fight Tina Peters’ efforts to overturn her conviction in the courts. The safety of our elections and the rule of law require it.”
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