"DENVER Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has reduced the state prison sentence of Tina Peters, a former county clerk convicted of tampering with election equipment, allowing her to be eligible for parole on June 1. The controversial decision follows a months-long pressure campaign from President Trump and his administration to free Peters from state custody. In April, a state appeals court upheld Peters' 2024 conviction but ruled that she should be re-sentenced, saying that the trial court judge who issued her nearly nine-year sentence improperly factored in her protected speech."
"Peters was convicted for her role in facilitating a security breach of Mesa County's voting machines when she was clerk and recorder. The incident occurred six months after the 2020 election, as part of her effort to prove Trump's baseless claims of a rigged election. Peters' conviction and sentence have stood out because legal efforts to hold Trump and many other allies accountable for attempts to overturn that election have faltered."
"Peters claimed that the trial judge in Grand Junction, Matthew Barrett, violated her First Amendment rights when he strongly rebuked Peters during sentencing, with a blistering critique of her actions and attitude, saying that she was an attention-seeking former official who only thinks about herself. He said she was continuing to push false claims about rigged voting machines and a stolen election. "You are no hero," Barrett told Peters in 2024. "You're a charlatan who used, and is still using, your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that's been proven to be junk time and time again.""
"Polis' decision stands to be deeply unpopular among Democrats and election officials in the state, who urged him not to issue a commutation. However, he said that he focused on the facts, not whether he agreed with Peters. "And in this case there is absolutely both the appearance and frankly, I believe the likelihood that her speech was""
Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis reduced the state prison sentence of Tina Peters, a former county clerk convicted of tampering with election equipment. The change makes her eligible for parole on June 1. A state appeals court upheld her 2024 conviction but ordered resentencing, finding the original judge improperly considered her protected speech. Peters was convicted for facilitating a security breach of Mesa County voting machines while clerk and recorder, after the 2020 election. Her actions were tied to efforts to support claims that the election was rigged. Peters argued that the sentencing judge violated her First Amendment rights during a harsh rebuke. Polis said he focused on the facts and believed her speech protections were implicated, despite opposition from many Democrats and election officials.
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