Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is facing mounting pressure from both sides of the aisle to keep former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters in state custody.
The Colorado County Clerk’s Association sent the governor a bipartisan letter urging him not to grant a request made last week by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move Peters into federal custody.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold also sent Polis a letter Friday urging him to deny the request.
Peters is serving a 9-year prison sentence after being found guilty of granting unauthorized access to Mesa County voting systems in an effort to find voter fraud that supported President Trump’s claim that he had won the 2020 presidential election.
According to The Associated Press, a member of Peters’s legal team said the reason for the request could be so she could be more involved in investigations into voting machines used in the 2020 election and because of health problems Peters has experienced in prison.
Legal experts say a transfer to federal custody could lead to her release – something Trump has pushed for for months, calling Peters a "political prisoner."
In its letter, the Colorado County Clerk’s Association said Peters would continue “disseminating false narratives” about an election conspiracy if she were to be transferred – and would put other law-abiding clerks in danger.
“The risks to these public servants would only grow if she were allowed to use a new legal narrative to further these falsehoods,” the letter read in part. “These election professionals stood up for the law, for the truth, and for the voters of Colorado. In return, they endured fear for their safety and reputational attacks that continue even today.”
“To remove Ms. Peters from Colorado custody now, at the urging of political actors outside our state, would send a deeply damaging message to the clerks who upheld their oath under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It would imply that accountability for violations of Colorado law can be negotiated or avoided, while those who acted honorably were left to face the consequences alone. It would also undermine the work of Colorado’s prosecutors, jurors, and judicial system, each of whom fulfilled their responsibilities thoroughly and independently.”
Griswold’s letter shared similar sentiment, claiming election conspiracies signal-boosted by Peters have “in part has created a previously unthinkable threat atmosphere for Colorado election officials.”
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has said he would “strongly oppose” any effort to transfer Peters.
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