Trump grants pardon to ex-Colorado clerk Tina Peters

A former Colorado employee convicted of trying to breach voting systems in hopes of proving President Donald Trump’s allegations of election malfeasance in 2020 will receive a pardon.

Trump announced his pardon for Tina Peters on Truth Social, saying she was in prison for the “crime” of demanding honest elections.

“Democrats have continually targeted TINA PETERS, a patriot who simply wanted to make sure our elections were fair and honest,” he wrote. “Today, I grant Tina a full pardon for her attempts to expose voter fraud in the rigged 2020 presidential election!”

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Tina Peters, Mesa County clerk and Colorado Republican candidate for secretary of state, will receive a pardon from President Donald Trump. Peters is serving a nine-year sentence after a state jury found her guilty of participating in a scheme to violate Mesa County’s election systems. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, a federal judge refused to release Peters, 70, from prison.

She is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a state jury found her guilty of participating in a scheme to violate Mesa County’s election system. She sued for his release earlier this year, arguing that her right to free speech had been violated, but Judge Scott Varholak denied the motion on Monday.

“Ms. Peters raises important constitutional questions about whether the trial court improperly punished her more harshly because of her First Amendment-protected speech,” Varholak wrote. “But because this question remains pending before the Colorado courts, this Court must refrain from answering this question until the Colorado courts have decided the issue.”

Peter Ticktin, Peters’ attorney, said he was formally notified of the pardon Thursday.

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Mesa County Clerk and Clerk Tina Peters during a rally on the west steps of the Colorado Capitol in Denver, Colorado on April 5, 2022. (Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

“Tina Peters deserves justice,” he wrote on

In a letter to Trump on Dec. 7, Ticktin said Peters’ trial was a “travesty” in which she was not allowed to present her defense.

Trump said Peters was languishing in prison despite Democrats pushing crime reduction policies that let criminals go free, saying they had been “relentless” in their targeting.

“For years, Democrats have ignored violent and cruel crimes of all shapes, sizes, colors and types. Violent criminals who should have been incarcerated have been allowed to attack again,” he wrote. “Democrats were also all too happy to let the worst of the worst countries in so they could rip off American taxpayers. Democrats think there is only one crime: not voting for them!

“Instead of protecting Americans and their tax dollars, Democrats have chosen to sue everyone they can find who wants a safe and secure election.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the White House Task Force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office of the White House, November 17, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis previously pledged not to pardon Peters as part of a deal with Trump, saying she must be held accountable.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold later released a statement saying:

“Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers for state crimes in state court. Trump has no constitutional authority to pardon her. His attack is not only on our democracy, but also on states’ rights and the U.S. Constitution.”

Fox News Digital contacted the Colorado Democratic and Republican parties as well as the governor’s office.