{"id":446,"date":"2026-05-16T04:04:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=446"},"modified":"2026-05-16T04:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:04:29","slug":"gov-polis-legacy-colorado-officials-blast-tina-peters-sentence-reduction-resulting-in-release-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=446","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Gov. Polis\u2019 legacy\u2019? Colorado officials blast Tina Peters sentence reduction, resulting in release soon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Elected officials from across Colorado largely ripped into Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 Friday decision to dramatically accelerate the release of Tina Peters, accusing the governor of caving to President Donald Trump by commuting the election conspiracist\u2019s sentence.<\/p>\n

Read more Gov. Jared Polis reduces Tina Peters\u2019 sentence, says she will be released June 1<\/a><\/p>\n

The condemnations were swift, with some officials saying the decision undercut the integrity of the nation\u2019s elections. Outcry came mostly from Polis\u2019 fellow Democrats, who had roundly urged and pleaded with the governor not to interfere with the prison sentence for the former Mesa County clerk, but also from a coalition of county clerks.<\/p>\n

Word of the impending decision had begun to travel earlier in the day Friday, and by the time Polis\u2019 office released a statement that included Peters on a list of other commutations, an array of officials had readied blistering reactions.<\/p>\n

The Colorado County Clerks Association wrote that the state\u2019s election officials were \u201cfurious, disgusted and deeply disappointed by the governor\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is now Gov. Polis\u2019s legacy,\u201d the clerks\u2019 association wrote. \u201cHe will not be able to run from it or redefine it later. When given the opportunity to stand firmly for the rule of law, for the integrity of Colorado\u2019s elections, and for the public servants who defend them, he chose a different path. This decision is shameful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shad Murib, the chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said the commutation \u201csends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you\u2019re friends with the president.\u201d The Democratic leadership of the state House and Senate wrote that they \u201cstrongly opposed\u201d Polis\u2019 move. The leaders of the Colorado AFL-CIO and Colorado WINS, which represents state employees, both condemned Polis\u2019 decision in separate statements.<\/p>\n

And U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said Polis\u2019 action sent the wrong message, writing in a statement:\u00a0\u201cTina Peters is guilty as sin and a disgrace to Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis, who is in his final year in office after two terms, announced that Peters would be released on June 1. She has been incarcerated since October 2024, but the Colorado Court of Appeals threw out her more than eight-year prison sentence last month. She had not yet been resentenced.<\/p>\n

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Some Colorado elected officials praised Polis\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican who has long defended Peters, wrote on social media: \u201c(Gov.) Polis and I have had many conversations regarding Tina\u2019s unjust punishment and her release. My heart was filled with joy when he called me today to share this great news!\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican state Rep. Scott Bottoms, who is running for governor, wrote on social media that Polis \u201cdid the right thing\u201d by commuting Peters\u2019 sentence. If elected, he pledged to give Peters a full pardon.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, another Republican running for governor, said Polis\u2019 action might have been premature.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe court process was still ongoing,\u201d she said, \u201cand I believe this matter would have been best handled through the judicial system rather than through executive action. I would have preferred to allow the judicial process, under which the trial judge has been ordered by the appeals court to revisit his sentencing of Ms. Peters, to run its course before considering a commutation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The League of Women Voters of Colorado, in a statement, said Peters was \u201cnot a sympathetic figure caught in a legal gray area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado weather: Severe storms, chance of snow for Front Range<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cColoradans take election security seriously because it matters,\u201d the group said. \u201cOur elections are administered by dedicated, nonpartisan officials who work with integrity and professionalism to ensure that every vote is cast and counted lawfully. Governor Polis\u2019s decision diminishes the weight of their work and sends a troubling message: that the consequences for betraying the public trust can be negotiated away.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview Friday, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, accused Polis of bowing to Trump, who has repeatedly called for Peters\u2019 release and has taken several punitive actions against the state in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just seeing a lot of favors curried to lawlessness, and what I worry about is, in a time where the federal justice system is crippled through this corrupt federal administration, our state judicial system has to work,\u201d Griswold said. \u201cThere has to be some checks to lawlessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Katie Wallace, a Longmont Democrat who\u2019d organized a March letter from lawmakers urging Polis not to touch Peters\u2019 sentence, said that the governor\u2019s decision amounted to \u201cwanton disregard for the safety of our elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s doing it before her new sentence is even given again,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cThe courts are under an order to resentence Tina Peters, and he doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s forgiving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every Democratic lawmaker in the state legislature signed the letter, and some had privately discussed voting to censure Polis if he altered Peters\u2019 sentence. But the legislative session ended Wednesday, ending lawmakers\u2019 ability to consider a formal condemnation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels very intentional, his timing, and we resent that because we are a co-equal branch of government here,\u201d Wallace said. She acknowledged that Polis had pardon and commutation powers outside of the other branches of state government, but she said his timing was \u201cnefarious.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Democratic candidates vying to succeed Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, both criticized the decision. Weiser called the move \u201cmind-boggling and wrong as a matter of basic justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Cleave Simpson, the state Senate\u2019s top Republican, issued a careful statement Friday that refrained from praising or criticizing Polis.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Republicans, we support the rule of law, due process, and accountability,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe recognize that many Americans remain concerned about election trust and government response. Listening to these concerns is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least one high-ranking elected official appeared pleased with Polis\u2019 decision: In a social media post Friday afternoon, Trump wrote, \u201cFREE TINA!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Coroner identifies man, 33, who was killed in Second Flatiron fall near Boulder<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado officials blasted Gov. Jared Polis on Friday for his decision to reduce the sentence for election conspiracist and Donald Trump ally Tina Peters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Gov. Polis\u2019 legacy\u2019? 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