US President Donald Trump has once again made headlines, demanding the release of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is currently serving a nine-year sentence for tampering with election machines in Colorado.
In a late-night post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump criticised Colorado Governor Jared Polis for blocking the transfer of Peters to federal custody.
He wrote: “The SLEAZEBAG Governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, refuses to allow an elderly woman, Tina Peters, who was unfairly convicted of what the Democrats do, cheating on Elections, out of jail!”
Trump claimed Peters was “convicted for trying to stop Democrats from stealing Colorado Votes in the Election” and argued that she was simply “preserving Election Records, which she was obligated to do under Federal Law.”
However, Peters’ conviction followed a state investigation that found she had deliberately breached election security systems to support false claims of voter fraud.
The president did not stop there, calling Polis a “lightweight Governor” and accusing him of letting “his State go to hell…[and] should be ashamed of himself.”
He ended his post with a rallying cry: “FREE TINA!”, despite Peters having served only one year of her nine-year sentence. Polis has not yet issued a public response.
BREAKING: President Trump just EVISCERATED the Governor of Colorado for holding Tina Peters HOSTAGE in prison, calling him a “SLEAZEBAG”
“This lightweight Governor, who has allowed his State to go to hell (Tren de Aragua, anyone?), should be ashamed of himself.
FREE TINA!” pic.twitter.com/itz7tVpw4o— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 4, 2025
Trump’s Post-Pardon Strategy
Trump’s demand comes shortly after he issued pardons for 77 individuals involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
This included well-known figures such as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
When asked why Peters was not on the pardon list, Pardon Attorney Ed Martin replied on X (formerly Twitter): “We are working on it!” It’s important to note that presidential pardons apply only to federal cases, and Peters’ conviction was handed down by a state court.
Federal Request Denied by Colorado Authorities
After the pardons, the Federal Bureau of Prisons requested that Peters be transferred into federal custody to serve her sentence in a federal facility.
Colorado officials rejected the request, clarifying: “The state is the entity that would initiate any transfer request. There is no standard practice for another prison system to request a transfer. The Department is not currently seeking any transfer.”
This refusal has highlighted the limits of federal intervention in state-level convictions, leaving Peters’ legal team to explore other options.
Calls for a Drastic Intervention
The debate around Peters’ imprisonment has also taken a dramatic turn. On Steve Bannon’s podcast, Peters’s lawyer Peter Ticktin suggested that Trump could use the military to free her from prison.
Ticktin said he would “love to see that happen,” prompting Bannon to tell listeners: “This audience would one million percent back you, back the Justice Department, back the Secretary of War, back the President of the United States if we did this tomorrow morning.”
While these comments stirred political chatter online, they underscore the ongoing support Peters has among election-fraud activists and Trump loyalists.
Where Things Stand Now?
With Colorado refusing to transfer Peters to federal custody, her release appears unlikely in the near future.
Trump’s campaign to free the former clerk continues to fuel debates about election security, voting machine tampering, and political influence in state judicial matters.
For UK readers, the story highlights a recurring theme in American politics: the tension between federal and state authority, high-profile pardons, and ongoing controversies over election integrity.
