President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is granting a full pardon to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk who became a cause célèbre among election-integrity activists after her criminal conviction related to a 2021 breach of county voting-machine equipment.
Trump delivered the announcement on Truth Social, blasting Democrats and prosecutors for what he called politically motivated targeting of Peters and other supporters aligned with his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
In his post, Trump wrote: “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!” he concluded.
The pardon arrived days after Peters formally sought clemency, prompted by a court’s rejection of her habeas corpus filing.
Her attorney, Peter Ticktin, wrote to the president on Saturday seeking a pardon for Peters, noting that she has been threatened and attacked multiple times by other inmates.
Peters rose to national prominence after the 2021 security breach in Mesa County, where confidential voting-machine data was copied and later leaked online. Colorado officials said the breach violated state security protocols and exposed sensitive election-system information.
Prosecutors alleged Peters permitted an unauthorized person into a secure area during a voting-machine update and helped facilitate the copying of restricted Dominion Voting Systems software.
In 2024, a Colorado jury found Peters guilty of obstruction of a government operation, a misdemeanor, for interfering with investigators during the breach inquiry. She was sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to pay fines and perform community service.
While additional felony charges were brought in a separate case related to the data breach itself, those proceedings remained ongoing at the time of her incarceration.
Peters and her supporters maintained that she acted as a whistleblower attempting to expose vulnerabilities in election systems.
State officials countered that her actions endangered election security and violated strict access rules designed to protect voting equipment.
Trump has repeatedly argued that Peters was targeted because of her alignment with his push to investigate irregularities in the 2020 election.
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