Colorado clerks beg governor: don't give in to Trump over imprisoned election denier

As President Donald Trump exerts pressure to release into federal custody a disgraced Colorado elections official convicted of felonies for a data breach scheme related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election, county clerks in the western state are imploring their governor to keep the convicted felon imprisoned.

Seven Colorado elections officials held a press conference Tuesday to ask Jared Polis, the Democratic governor, to keep former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters in state custody for the duration of her nine-year sentence, for charges related to a data breach that allowed Trump ally Mike Lindell to access voter information in an attempt to prove false claims of election fraud.

Polis has not yet commented on calls for Peters to be released, from rightwing figures including Trump.

“Your silence on this matter is very loud,” one clerk told reporters.

The Colorado election officials expressed fears about safety for themselves and family members, saying they have increasingly endured threats, some made in Peters' name.

"The communications that I received from people who have been confirmed as legitimate threats have explicitly put her name in these communications and have asked me and pleaded me to do the same thing that she has done, and if I don't, then I should be pulled out into the parking lot and tarred and feathered," said Carly Koppes, the Weld County Clerk and Recorder.

Koppes, president-elect of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said that ahead of Thanksgiving she had to plan how to safely visit the grocery store due to threats received since her first term as president of the association, in 2021.

"I had to hide my pregnancy because as soon as my pregnancy was known, my unborn child received disgusting remarks that are just completely unacceptable," Koppes said.

"I've had to have multiple conversations since 2021 with my family, including this weekend, about credible threats."

Koppes added: "This is the reality of the impact that Miss Peters has had, not only just on her own life, but every clerk and recorder's life across the state. The impact is real. The threats are credible."

The Colorado County Clerks Association sent a letter to Polis last Friday, requesting an in-person meeting to discuss why Peters should not be transferred to federal custody.

"We're parents. We are grandparents. We are the people who live next door, who show up to basketball games and potlucks," said Jenny Thomas, Routt County Clerk and Recorder, on Tuesday.

"But, now we price out shatterproof glass for our office windows. We memorize escape routes in every room that we walk into. We don't go places alone, and every single conspiracy theory that spreads online, every lie, every manufactured outrage, it lands on our doorstep."

Thomas continued: "Tina Peters is not a victim. She is a convicted felon ... this is not politics. This is accountability, and either the law means something or it means nothing."

Polis did not respond to Raw Story's request for comment.

'Assault on the rule of law'

Peters was found guilty by a jury in Mesa County, Colorado, of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one misdemeanor count of official misconduct, one misdemeanor count of violation of duty in elections and one misdemeanor count of failure to comply with the secretary of state.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has issued thousands of pardons and acts of clemency, which experts say buck pardoning norms.

Allies of Peters have been pushing for Trump to pardon her, though Trump can only issue pardons for federal charges, not state-level convictions.

Nonetheless, on Sunday Trump posted on Truth Social: "FREE TINA PETERS, WHO SITS IN A COLORADO PRISON, DYING & OLD, FOR ATTEMPTING TO EXPOSE VOTER FRAUD IN THE RIGGED 2O20 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!!!"

9News in Denver subsequently reported that a conservative podcaster and Peters ally, Joe Oltmann, called for the execution of Polis, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Trump continues to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, despite no evidence that widespread voter fraud occurred. In 2023, Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News reached a nearly $800 million settlement related to lies about voter machine fraud.

Paul López, Denver Clerk and Recorder, said on Tuesday: "Any gesture that panders to Donald Trump's ongoing assault on the rule of law and the integrity of our elections is a betrayal to the thousands of bipartisan elected workers who, despite threats and intimidation, continue to put country before party."

López urged Polis "to uphold the rule of law and protect the security of our elections, not indulge in the whims of a reckless president who continues to betray our republic."

"Our democracy is not a bargaining chip. Again, Governor Polis, I strongly urge you to unequivocally uphold the framework of our Constitution and to protect our election security. We are counting on your solidarity, and your silence on this matter is very loud.”