{"id":444,"date":"2026-05-15T23:03:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T23:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=444"},"modified":"2026-05-15T23:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T23:03:43","slug":"gov-jared-polis-reduces-tina-peters-sentence-says-she-will-be-released-june-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=444","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Jared Polis reduces Tina Peters\u2019 sentence, says she will be released June 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gov. Jared Polis reduced Tina Peters\u2019 sentence by half on Friday, ignoring months of pleas against such an action by many other Colorado elected officials and the prosecutor who won the former county clerk\u2019s conviction in an election data-breach scheme.<\/p>\n

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In a letter to Peters, Polis wrote that she will \u201cbe released on parole effective June 1, 2026\u201d \u2014 in just over two weeks.<\/p>\n

The commutation, which was announced in a group of 44 clemency actions Friday afternoon, reduced Peters\u2019 original sentence of nearly nine years, which was thrown out last month, to about 4.5 years. Polis\u2019 action, coming after more than a year of pressure from President Donald Trump \u2014 and several actions taken targeting the state \u2014 risked the appearance that he was bending to Trump\u2019s demands. But in an interview with The Denver Post ahead of the announcement, the governor was resolute.<\/p>\n

Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, has been a public supporter of election conspiracies rooted in Trump\u2019s reelection loss in 2020. But Polis said that \u201cjust because somebody believes the Earth is flat \u2014 just because somebody believes in conspiracy theories \u2014 does not mean that they should receive a harsher sentence for a very specific crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis\u2019 action drew swift reaction from other elected Democrats. Attorney General Phil Weiser, in an interview, called the commutation \u201can insult,\u201d \u201cmind-boggling\u201d and \u201ca threat to the rule of law.\u201d And Secretary of State Jena Griswold called Polis\u2019 decision \u201can affront to democracy\u201d and accused the governor of \u201cselling out our state justice system to cave to a vengeful president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griswold, the state\u2019s top elections official, said in an interview that she\u2019d had one conversation with Polis about his decision \u2014 and it occurred at 2 p.m. Friday, less than an hour before the news broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt tells a lawless president that if he pushes hard enough, he\u2019ll get his way,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that is dangerous for the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis\u2019 action also drew condemnation from the Colorado County Clerks Association, which said in a statement: \u201cWe are furious, disgusted, and deeply disappointed by the Governor\u2019s decision. We have met with him privately to make our position unmistakably clear: Tina Peters deserves the accountability imposed through Colorado\u2019s judicial system, and the Governor should, at the very least, respect that process and allow it to fully play out before intervening.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trump, for his part, quickly posted a short reaction on his platform Truth Social: \u201cFREE TINA!\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed Peters\u2019 eight-year prison term, which was part of an overall nine-year sentence, and ordered a Mesa County judge to resentence her. But that hasn\u2019t yet happened, and Peters\u2019 attorneys also still have time to further appeal her convictions.<\/p>\n

Peters, 70, has been serving her sentence since October 2024.<\/p>\n

Griswold noted that, following Trump\u2019s mass pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters last year, Peters was among the few people still serving prison time for crimes related to election interference and conspiracies. Her release had been a key priority for those who still back Trump\u2019s baseless election claims, with Peters and her supporters repeatedly referring to her as a political prisoner and as a whistleblower.<\/p>\n

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For months, Polis had publicly hinted that he would reduce Peters\u2019 sentence. On Friday, Polis quoted from the recent appeals court\u2019s decision, which said Peters\u2019 original sentence was wrongly based on her exercise of protected free speech, to defend his clemency decision.<\/p>\n

She will remain a felon under the commutation, and Polis argued that even her shortened sentence was harsher than what her co-defendants received \u2014 just not unduly harsh.<\/p>\n

While Peters has not publicly shown contrition for her crimes, Polis said she did so in her clemency application. His office previously denied a public records request for that application.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to get past our emotions, which I share, about election conspiracy theories,\u201d Polis said. \u201cI condemn them. I condemn any acts of threats or violence against our incredibly talented election workers on both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s important to look at, as we do in any case, the facts of the case \u2014 and make sure that we live in a society that upholds the value of freedom of speech, and that even when somebody holds incorrect and unpopular opinions, that speech is not held against them in a sentencing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan Rubinstein, the Republican Mesa County district attorney who prosecuted Peters, called Polis\u2019 decision arrogant and \u201cirresponsible.\u201d He also questioned the timing of the decision, given that the district court judge had not yet issued a new sentence for Peters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat process was still underway, yet the Governor chose to substitute his judgment for the courts, the sentencing judge, and the Mesa County community that bore the consequences of Ms. Peters\u2019 actions,\u201d Rubinstein said in a statement. \u201cIt is especially troubling that notoriety, political pressure and powerful allies appear to have produced special treatment that ordinary defendants would never receive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three legal experts also told The Post that the timing of Polis\u2019 decision was odd, with resentencing still pending. These industry-watchers said they could not think of another state-level case in which someone was given clemency in the middle of such proceedings.<\/p>\n

To Jonathon J. Booth, an associate professor of law at the University of Colorado, the governor\u2019s actions can best be compared to Trump pardoning the Jan. 6 insurrectionists for their roles in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a choice whether we want to punish these actions harshly or not,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems Polis and Trump are on the same side of that question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I made mistakes,\u2019 Peters says<\/h4>\n

After the commutation was announced, a statement by Peters that was posted to social media said: \u201cI made mistakes, and for those I am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

She acknowledged misleading Griswold, the secretary of state, to give another person unauthorized access to county voting equipment, and she promised \u201cto avoid the mistakes of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon release, I plan to do my best through legal means to support election integrity and based on my own personal experiences to elevate the cause of prison reform to help ensure the detention system is more fair and equitable for people of all ages,\u201d Peters wrote.<\/p>\n

Directly above her apology was a pinned post from March declaring, \u201cSOS Jena deleted election records! This is why the dems don\u2019t want to get rid of the machines and pass the Save America Act! This is why they won\u2019t turn over the voter data! They cheat and Tina Peters caught them!\u201d<\/p>\n

A jury found Peters guilty in August 2024 of providing a person outside the clerk\u2019s office \u2014 who was affiliated with noted election-denier Mike Lindell \u2014 with access to Mesa County\u2019s voting systems after the 2020 election, as part of Trump\u2019s baseless claims of election fraud.<\/p>\n

The former clerk was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.<\/p>\n

Polis\u2019 decision comes two days after the annual state legislative session adjourned \u2014 meaning that the governor appeared to have timed the commutation for when Democratic lawmakers, who had blasted him for even considering intervening, could no longer take any action to formally condemn him. Polis is term-limited, so lawmakers will not convene for another regular session until after he has left office.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Gov. Polis\u2019 legacy\u2019? Colorado officials blast Tina Peters sentence reduction, resulting in release soon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n