Judges in Colorado’s Democrat-run judiciary – the state’s Supreme Court tried to banish President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot before being slapped down by the U.S. Supreme Court – have affirmed the politicized convictions of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.
But they overturned her sentence of nine years in prison, ceding that the judge and a lot of others involved in persecuting Peters made mistakes that were not allowable. Specifically, the sentencing judge was found to have violated the Constitution by lashing out at Peters for exercising her free speech rights.
The case now returns to the lower courts even as Gov. Jared Polis, a staunch critic of Peters, concerned about election integrity, President Donald Trump and anything Republican, still delays on whether he will grant clemency on state charges.
He was confronted with that possibility when one of his friends, ex-State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, was convicted on charges similar to those against Peters. But Lewis was granted probation and community service, drawing attention to the politicized sentencing used against Peters.
In fact, Polis stated at the time, “Last week, former State Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis was sentenced to probation and community service after being convicted of four felonies including Attempt to Influence a Public Official. She made a horrible mistake, and she was wrong. I hope she learns from this and can rebuild her life. As someone who has known Sonya as a friend for many years, on a personal level I was glad to hear she isn’t going to prison which is a hard place for anyone, no less a retired 68-year old pharmacist.
“But it is not lost on me that she was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters — attempting to influence a public official — and yet Tina Peters, as a non-violent first time offender got a nine year sentence. Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law. This is the context I am using as I consider cases like this that have sentencing disparities, which is why I have extended the deadline for clemency applications until April 3rd. I will be making decisions on these cases throughout the remainder of my governorship.”
Last week, former State Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis was sentenced to probation and community service after being convicted of four felonies including Attempt to Influence a Public Official. She made a horrible mistake, and she was wrong. I hope she learns from this and can rebuild…
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) March 4, 2026
Polis has been under pressure in the Peters case since before President Donald Trump granted her a full pardon. At the time, Colorado officials said Peters was convicted of a state offense regarding election system integrity so Trump’s decision didn’t matter.
The new ruling from the Colorado Court of Appeals addressed the case involving Peters, 70, who was arrested in July 2022 and accused of granting an unauthorized man access to Mesa County’s election system.
Her intent apparently was to preserve records from the 2020 presidential election vote, which by now is known to have been affected by several undue influences, including Mark Zuckerberg’s handout of $400 million plus to a long list of local elections officials.
The other factor was the FBI’s decision to interfere by knowingly lying about the Biden family scandals found in a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden. The bureau called it Russian disinformation when agents knew at the time it was true, and a subsequent polling said without that suppression of news, Biden likely would not have won.
The appeals court affirmed the Democrat system’s conviction of Peters, but overturned the sentence because it was “based in part on improper consideration of her exercise of her right to free speech.”
State Attorney General Phil Weiser, a far-left activist who now wants to be governor, wildly claimed in a statement that she put “other lives at risk, and threatened our democracy.”
When Polis raised the possibility of acting in Peters’ case, other Democrats in the state were enraged, including scandal-plagued Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Weiser and even Sen. Michael Bennet.
The court ruling, signed by Gilbert M. Roman, a judge, said, “Peters contends that the trial court violated her First Amendment right under the United States Constitution and her right under article II, section 10 of the Colorado Constitution because it punished her based on her protected speech regarding allegations of election fraud. We agree.”
Lino Lipinisky de Orlov and Craig Welling were the other judges to sign onto the politicized opinion.
WorldNetDaily reported when the scandal of Polis’ friend, and her light sentence on charges like those in the Peters case, arose. That put Polis under even more pressure to act in the political fight.
Curiously, Griswold, in her official office, was found to have posted hundreds of election system passwords online, and she was not even reprimanded, much less prosecuted.
FREE TINA PETERS NOW!!! https://t.co/QS41ID7Rlq
— Linda S (@Lindanap123) March 4, 2026
Colorado Governor Jared Polis Admits Tina Peters Sentence is ‘Harsh’ — Opens Door to Possible Commutation! https://t.co/Mm1ig1kEbo
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) January 9, 2026
Lewis was convicted of sending fraudulent letters of support to the Colorado Senate Ethics Committee, which was looking into claims she mistreated her employees.
Meanwhile, Peters charged the leftist judge who openly scolded and berated her for her opinions, “violated her First Amendment rights by punishing her for making allegations about election fraud,” the report said.
It was Matt Barrett, the judge in Peters’ case, who unleashed his own political opinions under the guise of a sentencing statement, wildly claiming Peters was a “charlatan” and a danger.
WorldNetDaily reported earlier on Trump’s opinion of Polis, regarding the Peters case.
He had said Polis can “rot in Hell.”
On social media, Trump posted, “God Bless Tina Peters, who is now, for two years out of nine, sitting in a Colorado Maximum Security Prison, at the age of 73, and sick, for the ‘crime’ of trying to stop the massive voter fraud that goes on in her State (where people are leaving in record numbers!). Hard to wish her a Happy New Year, but to the Scumbag Governor, and the disgusting ‘Republican’ (RINO!) DA, who did this to her (nothing happens to the Dems and their phony Mail In Ballot System that makes it impossible for a Republican to win an otherwise very winnable State!). I wish them only the worst. May they rot in Hell. FREE TINA PETERS!”
Trump earlier announced on social media:
“For years, Democrats ignored Violent and Vicious Crime of all shapes, sizes, colors, and types. Violent Criminals who should have been locked up were allowed to attack again. Democrats were also far too happy to let in the worst from the worst countries so they could rip off American Taxpayers. Democrats only think there is one crime – Not voting for them! Instead of protecting Americans and their Tax Dollars, Democrats chose instead to prosecute anyone they can find that wanted Safe and Secure Elections. Democrats have been relentless in their targeting of TINA PETERS, a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the “crime” of demanding Honest Elections. Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!”
Trump previously has described Polis, a Democrat whose hundreds of millions of dollars in personal wealth came to him in several business deals as Internet commerce was just launching years ago, as a “sleazebag.”
Further, Griswold has been named in a federal complaint charging violations of federal elections law.
Griswold has been accused in a complaint from United4Freedom.
The nonpartisan group dedicated to “restoring the fundamental right of every American citizen to representative government,” said its formal administrative complaint was filed under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
It alleges “systemic violations of federal election law involving post-certification alterations to Colorado’s statewide voter registration database.”
It charges that Griswold orchestrated “nearly 488,000 post-certification voter record changes across three federal elections.”
The organization cites “evidence that 487,887 voter participation history records were modified after elections were officially certified in 2020, 2022, and 2024.”
