Jared Polis said Tina Peters took responsibility for her crimes. Now she’s posting that Democrats ‘will try to destroy you’
Election denier Tina Peters is expressing her gratitude to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) for his commutation last week of her prison sentence for her role in a voting system breach.
“I thank Governor Polis for being willing to stand up in the middle of this persecution and do what he believed was right,” Peters, a former GOP election official and ally of President Donald Trump, said Friday via a social media account that is managed by her legal team.
Polis’ move, which makes Peters eligible for parole in just a few weeks, angered Democrats, who charged that it had emboldened election deniers and made it harder to protect voting going forward. The state party formally censured the governor Thursday. The party said Polis, who leaves office in January, won’t be honored or welcomed as an official guest at any events sponsored by his own state party.
But Peters backed him — and suggested the censure is further evidence the party is trying to cover up a rigged 2020 election.
“The Democrats have once again shown that if you do not stay within their party line, they will try to destroy you,” the post said. “They are attacking the governor for showing mercy, and they have put a bullseye on a 70-year-old, nonviolent, first-time offender.”
In Polis’ letter to Peters informing her of the commutation, he wrote that Peters “demonstrate[d] taking responsibility for your crimes, and a commitment to follow the law going forward.”
But Peters’ social media post suggests she is still hung up on the same conspiracy theories that inspired her actions that led to her conviction.
“It should be obvious to Democrats and Republicans alike that they have something to hide,” Peters’ account said. “It is so obvious that they are willing to continue destroying people’s lives to cover it up.”
“The censure of Governor Polis shows just how radical the left has truly become,” the post continues. “And if they are this afraid of mercy being shown to one whistleblower, the public should ask what they are still trying so hard to hide.”
Peters was convicted in 2024 after prosecutors showed she facilitated unauthorized access to Mesa County voting equipment and helped expose sensitive system data, actions driven by false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. A jury found Peters guilty on multiple counts, and she was sentenced to nine years in prison by a judge who called her a “charlatan” who peddled “snake oil” and said she showed no remorse for her actions.
Peters’ plight has made her a cause célèbre among election deniers, MAGA supporters, and the far-right, who view her as a pariah for trying to expose a conspiracy theory, which has been thoroughly discredited. Trump has repeatedly called on Polis to free Peters, and has appeared to punish Colorado with funding cuts and other retaliatory measures for keeping her locked up.
Colorado Sec. of State Jena Griswold (D) warned that Polis’ grant of clemency will have “far-reaching consequences” by empowering election deniers and conspiracy theorists.
“At a time when democracy and voting rights are under attack across the nation, weakening accountability for someone convicted of undermining that trust is a mistake,” Griswold said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) said that Peters’ post shows she “lacks remorse” for her actions.
“If you needed proof that Tina Peters lacks remorse, read the post below,” Weiser said on X, in response to Peters’ social media post. “Commuting her sentence was a historic mistake, a disservice to those who protect our elections, and an insult to those of us who worked on this criminal prosecution.”
