Former President Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Tina Peters, a Colorado election clerk sentenced to prison for tampering with voting machines following the 2020 presidential election.
Trump Calls Tina Peters a “Political Prisoner”
On Monday, Trump took to Truth Social to express outrage over Peters’ imprisonment. He criticized Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser for focusing on Peters instead of tackling violent crime. Trump described Peters as a “69-year-old Gold Star mother” who was punished for exposing alleged Democratic election fraud.
“Tina is an innocent political prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished… This is a Communist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their election crimes and misdeeds in 2020,” Trump wrote.
Trump compared her case to Democrats attempting to assist gang members abroad, while accusing them of unjustly jailing a grandmother in the U.S. He even urged the Department of Justice to intervene, calling Peters a “hostage” held for political reasons.
Why Was Tina Peters Jailed?
In October 2024, Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison, making her the first election official in U.S. history convicted of criminal charges tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Charges Against Peters
Peters was found guilty in August 2024 on seven of ten charges stemming from a 2021 security breach in Colorado’s election system. The convictions included:
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Attempting to influence a public official (three counts)
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Conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation
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Official misconduct
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Violation of duty
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Failure to comply with an order from the secretary of state
She was acquitted of three other charges: conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, criminal impersonation, and identity theft.
What Did She Do?
The eight-day trial focused on events from May 2021, when Peters allegedly allowed unauthorized access to Mesa County’s election system. She misused a county security card to grant access to an individual reportedly linked to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a known 2020 election conspiracy theorist.
Peters also deceived colleagues by hiding the man’s true identity, which became a key part of the case.
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