Updated 10:48 a.m., May 6, 2025
President Donald Trump escalated the federal attempt to upend Colorado鈥檚 prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in a social media post Monday night.
鈥淭ina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,鈥� he wrote.
In the post, Trump directed the U.S. Department of Justice to 鈥渢ake all necessary action to help secure the release of former Mesa county clerk Tina Peters,鈥� referring to her as a hostage that was 鈥渂eing held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats, for political reasons.鈥�
鈥淔REE TINA PETERS, NOW!鈥� Trump wrote to punctuate the message.
In August, Peters was found by a jury of Mesa County residents on seven counts, including four felonies, after she helped facilitate unauthorized access to county voting equipment that she was supposed to safeguard in search of voter fraud. Despite years of investigation and attention from election conspiracy groups, neither her supporters nor her legal defense have ever shown that the machines were involved in any sort of election manipulation.
Trump鈥檚 online proclamation is the latest step in a growing federal effort to free Peters. In March, the Department of Justice went to in a bid to help Peters and potentially free her from custody. That intervention came in a federal habeas petition Peters鈥� lawyers are pursuing as they try to get the former clerk released from custody on bond, pending her appeal in state court of the initial conviction.
On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak suggested he鈥檚 inclined to send her case back to the state court.
Peters鈥� attorneys, Varholak wrote, had not demonstrated that all of her potential remedies through state courts had been exhausted, therefore making a federal appeal improper. Varholak ruled that two of the three claims made by Peters were still unexhausted, and that Peters鈥� attorneys must refile with more information within 30 days.
Peters is serving nine years at La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo. Her supporters have been trying to persuade the governor and state lawmakers to do something about her long prison sentence. State lawmakers have no authority over her sentence but Gov. Polis has the ability to issue a pardon or clemency.
In March, a Polis spokesman said Peters had not applied for clemency or a pardon and said the office would only consider clemency on its own merits 鈥渞egardless of bullying and threats.鈥� The office didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump鈥檚 latest social media post.
Peters continues to argue she did nothing wrong when she helped an unauthorized person use someone else鈥檚 identity to access her office鈥檚 election equipment and attend a secure software update. And she remains a cause celeb for those on the right who believe election equipment makers conspired with Democrats to sway elections 鈥� claims that have never been upheld in any court.
鈥淩adical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores Illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud. Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,鈥� said Trump, referring to her case as a 鈥淐ommunist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their Election crimes and misdeeds in 2020.鈥�
Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, the MAGA firebrand who represents the state鈥檚 4th Congressional District, said she sent a formal request to the FBI to look into the sentencing and treatment of Tina Peters.
鈥淚 am glad to see President Trump address this situation,鈥� she wrote in a post on X. 鈥淚 know FBI Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino will get the answers we deserve to hear!鈥�
Boebert also compared Peters鈥� crimes to the inadvertent posting of voting machine passwords by the Democratic Secretary of State鈥檚 office, writing that the fact there were no legal charges in that situation.is why 鈥淐oloradans believe the justice system is rigged.鈥�
Tuesday, AG Weiser鈥檚 office said in a statement to CPR News that his office would continue to fight the challenge in federal court.
鈥淭ina Peters is in prison because of her own actions,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淎 grand jury indicted her and a trial jury found her guilty of breaking Colorado鈥檚 criminal laws. No one is above the law. The Colorado Attorney General鈥檚 Office will continue to defend this criminal conviction in post-conviction proceedings and on appeal. We are firm in pursuing justice for the people of the state of Colorado, protecting free and fair elections, and standing up for the rule of law.鈥�
State audits have found no evidence of election fraud in Colorado in the 2020 election and confirmed that the machine vote tally matched the markings on the paper ballots.
The only instance of voter fraud recorded in the 2024 election in Mesa County came from a pair of women who allegedly stole mail ballots and attempted to cast them in an effort to test the state鈥檚 election security procedures. One of the women charged, Vicki Stuart, guilty to two charges related to that investigation Monday morning.
Editor鈥檚 Note: This story has been updated to include statements from Rep. Lauren Boebert and A.G. Phil Weiser.
| This story is part of a collection tracking the impacts of President Donald Trump鈥檚 second administration on the lives of everyday Coloradans. Since taking office, Trump has overhauled nearly every aspect of the federal government; journalists from CPR News, KRCC and Denverite are staying on top of what that means for you. . |
Copyright 2025 CPR News
