Tina Peters, the Colorado county clerk convicted of voting machine tampering, wasted little time after being freed from prison spreading the same nonsense that helped land her there.
Peters, 70, had her nine-year sentence commuted last month by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. On Monday, she walked out of state prison and right onto the friendly confines of Steve Bannon’s show, War Room, where she not only tried to rehash the 2020 election but also made baseless claims about the November midterms.
“I see these elections that are taking place in real time: the Mamdanis, the Virginia governor — Spanberger — and then what’s going on in California and Texas and Maine — just all over the country,” Peters said. “And I know that the Democrats are going to cheat, and no one’s really addressing the problem that I spent my time in prison as retribution for, and that was exposing the election machines that allow the votes to be flipped.”
Reacting to Peters’ comments, CNN anchor Jake Tapper was shocked.
“Wow,” the anchor of The Lead said. “A lot of untruthful statements there.”
Tapper spoke with Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who, like many other Democrats, doubted that Peters—the recipient of a symbolic pardon by Donald Trump—had learned her lesson.
“These lies have been used to fuel conspiracies, but also fuel the threat environment,” Griswold said. “I also think that her comments show she has absolutely no remorse. Granting clemency to her was a grave injustice to Colorado, our democracy and election workers all across this country. It was a bad idea, and I‘m hoping for the best, but Tina Peters shows herself time and time again—she has no remorse. And if I were to guess, she would do her actions again."
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser similarly said Peters’ conduct out of prison deserves scrutiny.
“Tina Peters may be free from prison, but she isn’t free from the crimes she committed tampering with her county’s election equipment,” Weiser told Politico. “She is a convicted felon, and I remain concerned about her conduct upon returning to Mesa County given her lack of remorse for her crimes. I will continue to fight Tina Peters’ efforts to overturn her conviction in the courts. The safety of our elections and the rule of law require it.”
For his part, Polis explained in a Substack post on Sunday that he thought Peters’ sentence was too long for a first-time offender. He added that he didn’t agree with Peters’ claims or believe she was innocent.
Peters was convicted in August 2024. Hours later, she ran to War Room to rant about “vote-flipping software that is basically in Serbia.”
Bannon, unlike on Monday, was absent for that episode. The former Trump White House adviser was in prison at the time for defying a House Jan. 6 Committee subpoena.
