Trump grants 'pardon' to Tina Peters that doesn't free her from prison [View all]

Source: USA Today

President Donald Trump issued what amounts to a symbolic "pardon" of Tina Peters, a former Republican county clerk in Colorado imprisoned for letting someone access data from a secure voting system in an effort to prove baseless 2020 election denial conspiracies.

Trump announced the "pardon" of Peters in a Dec. 11 post on X. However, Peters ‒ who remains the only Trump ally in prison for crimes related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election ‒ was convicted on state charges. Trump's pardon power as president only extends to federal charges, meaning Peters will remain in prison and her conviction stands.

"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," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "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's statement came after a federal magistrate judge on Dec. 8 rejected a bid by the 69-year-old Peters to be released from prison as she appeals her 2024 state conviction.

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Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/11/donald-trump-symbolic-pardon-tina-peters-colordo/87724735007/