After 10 months of efforts to secure her release from Colorado authorities, President Donald Trump pardoned Tina Peters on Thursday. However, state officials have stated they will not immediately release the woman despite the presidential pardon.
In a Truth Social post, Trump declared: “Democrats have been relentless in their targeting of TINA PETERS, a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest. Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the ‘crime’ of demanding Honest Elections. Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!”
Peters, jailed in October 2024, serves a nine-year sentence after being convicted by a jury on seven charges, including four felonies such as three counts of attempting to influence a public servant. The convictions arose from allegations she gave outsiders access to Mesa County, Colorado voting equipment.
Her lawyer, Peter Ticktin, reported that Peters has been attacked three times by other prisoners in custody. Kari Lake, who has alleged election fraud in her Arizona campaign and endorsed Trump’s claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, expressed concern for Peters’ health: “She’s a woman who’s got health problems and I’m afraid if we don’t get her out, she’ll die behind bars,” Lake stated.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold countered Trump’s pardon by asserting state officials have no intention to release Peters. “Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers for state crimes in a state Court. Trump has no constitutional authority to pardon her. His assault is not just on our democracy, but on states’ rights and the American constitution,” Griswold said.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons had previously requested Colorado transfer Peters to federal custody, but Governor Jared Polis denied the request.
Peters gave an interview to TNA on August 16, 2024, before her imprisonment, alleging collusion between Dominion Voting Systems and state officials to manipulate elections. She claimed they deleted 29,000 election records and possessed the capability to flip votes in seconds.
Ticktin filed an amicus brief supporting Peters’ release, noting a federal magistrate judge had dismissed her bid for release while she appealed her state conviction. He stated: “You don’t keep someone in prison when you don’t know if she belongs in prison or not. It could be a year of litigation. You have to let her out.”
