Tina Peters, a former election clerk who was sentenced to prison for tampering with voting machines following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, was granted clemency Friday by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D).
Peters, who was convicted in 2024, had been serving a nine-year prison sentence for tampering with voting machines as part of a failed scheme to prove the 2020 election had been rigged against President Donald Trump.
She was among six people Polis granted parole, effective June 1.
In a Truth Social post Friday afternoon, Trump wrote: “FREE TINA!”
Polis told The New York Times he didn’t grant clemency to Peters in an effort to appease Trump, but instead believes she was given too harsh a sentence.
“She committed a crime; she deserves to be a convicted felon,” he told the paper, adding “she was given an unusually harsh sentence.”
In May 2021, Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk, brought in an outside computer expert affiliated with election denier Mike Lindell to make a copy of the county’s election computer server during a routine software update. Video and photos of the Dominion Voting Systems upgrade, including county passwords, were later shared online.
A Colorado appeals court upheld Peters’ conviction last month but ruled she should be resentenced in the case because the judge should not have considered her continued claims of election fraud when sentencing her.
In a letter to Peters, Polis wrote that her application proved she had taken responsibility for her crimes and was committed to following the law moving forward.
“The crimes you were convicted of are very serious and you deserve to spend time in prison for these offenses,” the letter reads. “However, this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes.”
Peters had previously admitted no wrongdoing and claimed she was trying to preserve election records.
Trump had long put pressure on Colorado officials to release Peters, writing in a Truth Social post last year that she was “an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished.”
He directed the Department of Justice to take the necessary action to have Peters released, referring to her as a ”‘hostage’ being held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats, for political reasons.”
Trump granted Peters a pardon late last year, but she was not freed from jail because she was convicted of state, not federal, charges.
Several Colorado officials issued statements on Friday condemning Polis’ decision.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Polis’ decision would “leave a dark, dangerous imprint on American democracy for years to come.”
“This clemency grant to Tina Peters is an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country,” Griswold said in a statement, adding that Peters’ actions cost Mesa County nearly $1 million in replacement equipment.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who is running to replace the term-limited Polis, said in a statement that he “vehemently disagree[s]” with the governor’s actions.
“Lawlessness only breeds more lawlessness,” he said. “With President Trump continuing to attack Colorado, we must do everything we can to stand strong for our institutions and the rule of law.”