{"id":4235,"date":"2026-06-01T17:06:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/01\/colorado-elections-clerk-tina-peters-released-from-prison-after-sentence-commuted\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T17:06:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:06:01","slug":"colorado-elections-clerk-tina-peters-released-from-prison-after-sentence-commuted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4235","title":{"rendered":"Colorado elections clerk Tina Peters released from prison after sentence commuted"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"77b640b0-b13e-4c1c-be25-2fb5dfe930e5\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a woman in navy blazer sits in courtroom and looks to side\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8cf41dfbde7f1579e3cbbda585690617b83d3d37\/0_0_3000_2000\/master\/3000.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Tina Peters looks on during her sentencing for her election interference case at the Mesa county district court, on 3 October 2024 in Grand Junction, Colorado.<\/span> Photograph: Larry Robinson\/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"77b640b0-b13e-4c1c-be25-2fb5dfe930e5\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Tina Peters looks on during her sentencing for her election interference case at the Mesa county district court, on 3 October 2024 in Grand Junction, Colorado.<\/span> Photograph: Larry Robinson\/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Colorado elections clerk Tina Peters released from prison after sentence commuted<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Peters, a conspiracy theorist convicted after 2020 election, served less than a quarter of her nine-year sentence<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/15\/tina-peters-colorado-election-clerk-commutation\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Tina Peters<\/a>, the former clerk convicted of participating in a scheme to chase election conspiracy theories promulgated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Donald Trump<\/a>, was released from prison on Monday after the president successfully pressured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/colorado\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Colorado<\/a>\u2019s Democratic governor into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/15\/colorado-governor-tina-peters\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">commuting her sentence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Peters\u2019 release was confirmed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/colorado\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Colorado<\/a> corrections department. The state agency said it would have no more information about the 70-year-old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Her sentence was shortened by Jared Polis, Colorado\u2019s governor, in May after Trump waged a lengthy pressure campaign against the governor and his state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Peters served less than a quarter of her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/03\/tina-peters-election-colorado\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">nine-year<\/a> sentence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Peters was the first local election official to be charged with breaching security after the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden at the end of his first presidency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">She snuck in an outside computer expert affiliated with the MyPillow chief executive, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jun\/16\/mypillow-mike-lindell-defamation-trial\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Mike Lindell<\/a> \u2013 who himself denied that Trump lost the White House in 2020 \u2013 and the person copied the county\u2019s Dominion Voting Systems computer server as it was updated in 2021.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"0be0a6f0-beb4-4017-8a9e-06f3b14cfd75\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-6 | 6\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-ak3j0c\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/15\/tina-peters-colorado-election-clerk-commutation\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">Who is Tina Peters, the Colorado clerk whose sentence for election crimes was commuted?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Peters then joined Lindell onstage at a \u201ccybersymposium\u201d that promised to reveal proof that the election was rigged. Video and photos of the computer system upgrade, including passwords, were posted online. The move stoked false claims that voting machines were manipulated to steal the election from Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Peters was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/article\/2024\/aug\/13\/tina-peters-guilty-colorado-2020-election-denier\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">convicted<\/a> in 2024 of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty and other crimes by jurors in Mesa county, a Republican stronghold that supported Trump. An appeals court upheld her conviction in April \u2013 but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/02\/tina-peters-colorado-clerk-resentencing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ordered<\/a> Peters to be resentenced because it said the judge who sent her to prison wrongly punished her for speaking out about election fraud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump had championed Peters\u2019 case, but because she was convicted under state law, he did not have the power to pardon her. Instead the president pressured Polis to do so, lambasting him on social media and disinviting him from a White House meeting with other governors. The Trump administration also announced plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/dec\/17\/trump-boulder-ncar-climate-lab\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">dismantle<\/a> the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/sep\/02\/trump-space-command-hq-alabama-colorado\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">relocate<\/a> the US space command to Alabama.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Polis commuted Peters\u2019 sentence on 15 May. In a letter he wrote that although Peters was convicted of serious crimes and deserved to spend time in prison, the sentence was \u201cextremely unusual and lengthy\u201d for a first-time and non-violent offender.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Jena Griswold, the Colorado secretary of state and also a Democrat, called the move a \u201cdark day for democracy\u201d and said it amounted to \u201cselling out our state\u2019s justice system for Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/colorado\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Colorado<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-elections-2020\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US elections 2020<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-voting-rights\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US voting rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Colorado%20elections%20clerk%20Tina%20Peters%20released%20from%20prison%20after%20sentence%20commuted&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/01\/tina-peters-colorado-election-released-prison?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjun%2F01%2Ftina-peters-colorado-election-released-prison&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jun\/01\/tina-peters-colorado-election-released-prison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tina Peters looks on during her sentencing for her election interference case at the Mesa county district court,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}