Who Is Tina Peters? Donald Trump Demands Jailed Election Clerk Be Released

President Donald Trump has demanded the immediate release of Tina Peters, a Colorado election clerk who was convicted of charges of tampering with voting machines after the 2020 presidential election.

Writing on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said: "Radical 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. This is a Communist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their Election crimes and misdeeds in 2020.

"The same Democrat Party that flies to El Salvador to try to free an MS-13 Terrorist, is cruelly imprisoning, perhaps for life, a grandmother whose brave and heroic son gave his life for America. Colorado must end this unjust incarceration of an innocent American. I am hereby directing the Department of Justice to take all necessary action to help secure the release of this 'hostage' being held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats, for political reasons. FREE TINA PETERS, NOW!"

In response, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said: "Tina Peters is a criminal who compromised her own voting equipment to try to prove Trump's Big Lie. Trump is weaponizing the Department of Justice. We cannot allow him to rewrite history or use his lies to create two tiers of justice for the American people."

Why It Matters

Peters has become a symbol for election denial movements that continue to cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections, despite a lack of evidence and repeated court rejections of such claims. Trump's public push for her release adds political pressure to a legal case involving serious breaches of election security.

What To Know

The president's call for Peters' release marks the latest development in a growing push by some federal officials to free the former Colorado election clerk, who is serving a nine-year sentence at La Vista Correctional Facility.

In March, the Department of Justice made an unusual move by filing a court brief that could aid Peters' case, but Colorado state attorneys have urged a federal judge to dismiss it. The judge has yet to rule, pending a decision on whether the court has jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Peters' supporters have been lobbying Governor Jared Polis and state lawmakers for intervention. While lawmakers have no power over her sentence, the governor has the authority to grant clemency or a pardon. So far, Peters has not submitted a formal application, and Polis' office previously said it would consider clemency only on its merits, not in response to political pressure.

Who Is Tina Peters?

Peters is a former Mesa County clerk who became a prominent figure in the election denial movement following the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Elected in 2018, Peters initially focused on administrative improvements but later aligned herself with efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 election results.

In 2021, she facilitated unauthorized access to her county's voting systems, seeking to uncover evidence of alleged election fraud. This breach led to sensitive election data being leaked online.

In October, Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison, making her the first election official in the U.S. convicted of criminal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

During her sentencing, Judge Matthew Barrett delivered a scathing rebuke, saying it was evident Peters had not shown remorse for her actions. Barrett described Peters as "defiant as a defendant that the court has ever seen," adding that he believed she would repeat her actions if given the chance. He accused her of seeking notoriety, despite her insistence that she never wanted attention.

The judge went on to say that Peters had shown little regard for the justice system, law enforcement, government officials or her own colleagues and that she had abused the authority of her office. He said she didn't take her duties as clerk "particularly seriously," adding that she never completed required certification and that "one scandal after another followed you in your time as the clerk."

Barrett concluded: "You are no hero. You abused your position, and you're a charlatan who used and is still using your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that's been proven to be junk time and time again."

At trial, prosecutors said Peters was seeking fame and had become "fixated" on election issues after getting involved with people who questioned the validity of the presidential election results.

What Did Tina Peters Do?

In August, Peters was found guilty of seven of 10 charges in a 2021 breach of Colorado's election system. She was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public official, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with an order by the secretary of state.

The jury acquitted her on three other charges: conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, criminal impersonation and identity theft.

The trial spanned eight days of testimony. It centered on events from May 2021, when Peters was accused of orchestrating a breach of election security equipment.

Peters was convicted of allowing a county security card to be misused, granting access to the Mesa County election system to an individual connected to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. She was also found guilty of deceiving other officials about the man's identity.

State audits confirmed the accuracy of Colorado's 2020 election, finding no evidence of fraud and verifying that machine vote counts matched the markings on paper ballots.

What Happens Next

Peters' case is still pending, and she remains in jail.

Update 5/7/25, 4:06 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Jena Griswold.