As state and federal attorneys square off over the incarceration of a former Mesa County Clerk, another battle is playing out in the inbox of Governor Jared Polis, where more than 800 messages — featuring 648 exclamation points — have besieged the governor about the possibility of a pardon for Tina Peters.
“Governor, as a gay Jewish man, you understand persecution, and you know it when you see it,” wrote one supporter who, while not a Colorado resident, notes she takes frequent summer trips to Telluride, Rico, Durango and Pagosa Springs. “I respectfully and urgently ask you to intervene and set Tina Peters free.”
Others have urged the governor to ignore the calls.
“I am getting harangued with GOP messages to contact your office and ask you to pardon Tina Peters,” wrote a woman from Mesa County. “Please do NOT pardon Tina Peters.”
Peters was sentenced to 9 years incarceration last October for her role in facilitating unauthorized access to Mesa County’s voting equipment. Her case drew national attention, including from those who spread unfounded claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Peters, who is currently being held at the La Vista Correctional Facility, is back in the public eye due to an ongoing effort by the Trump Administration to have her released. The focus has prompted calls for Polis to use his power as governor to pardon Peters, something only he — and not the president — can do, as she was convicted on state charges.
Polis traditionally issues pardons and commutations near Christmas every year. In an interview with Colorado Matters, the governor said he handles pardons on an individual basis and that pressure from the federal government would not impact his decision.
“We get many, many, many requests and most go nowhere. But I look at those very thoughtfully and make decisions on the merits,” Polis said.
A Colorado Open Records Act request by CPR to the Governor’s Office for emails requesting or discussing a possible pardon sent produced 898 pages of correspondence from between Nov. 5 and May 1, with the vast majority calling for leniency.
National appeal
Of the hundreds of emails, it’s unclear how many of the emails were sent by Colorado residents, with pleas coming from New Hampshire to California.
Around 150 of the emails requesting the governor to aid Peters specifically claim Colorado connection.
“Please release Tina Peters. She did nothing wrong. She is a hero of the same stature as Gandhi or Mandela,” read a plea from Fort Collins.
Yet not all of the emails sent to Polis are voicing support for Peters. In fact, more than 140 letter writers urged the governor not to bow to federal pressure.
This included some residents who felt called to reach out to Polis after reading dueling columns in The Denver Post arguing for and against the concept of a pardon.
“(Peters) broke the law in Colorado, and she needs to complete her entire sentence,” wrote a woman from Poncha Springs who said she’d just surveyed the editorial page’s arguments.
In fact, news coverage was closely tied to the deluge of emails. Almost 200 emails were dated on March 6, just a day after President Donald Trump posted online that he was instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to “take all necessary action to help secure the release of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters.”
The earliest emails provided in the open records request were sent in late January by a man in Georgia, shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
Click here for clemency
Included in the lengthy batch of emails advocating for a Peters pardon are dozens of form letters, including 48 messages — nearly all of which come from Georgia — produced through an online tool called OneClickPolitics.
“OneClickPolitics provides online communications tools for supporters of a cause, issue, organization or association to contact their elected officials,” reads a tag at the bottom of all the emails produced through the service. The online submission form where users can add their information and submit the letter is still live.
“Colorado’s unethical treatment of Clerk Peters has become a national spectacle of political persecution. I appeal to Governor Polis to correct this wrong by pardoning Clerk Peters, granting her clemency or otherwise quashing the unjust charges against her,” reads a portion of the pre-crafted message.
Another bit of recurring prose shows up 37 times in emails, mostly from people who say they live in Texas. Those emails, sent mostly in the first two weeks of March, were also forwarded to every member of the Colorado legislature.
“Justice is now on its way against the complicit Colorado leadership via an incoming Justice Department and an FBI focused on restoring integrity,” reads that letter. “The real criminals will soon be addressed.”
Peters’ path forward
Amid the online lobbying effort, Peters is still pursuing an appeal of her conviction in state court, while also requesting a federal judge grant her release from jail while the state appeal process plays out.
On May 5, the federal judge in that case said federal intervention was improper at this time, as Peters’ attorneys had not shown that they’d exhausted all options at the state level first.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office helped prosecute Tina Peters, told Colorado Matters earlier this month that claims that Peters’ conviction was politically motivated are spurious, something echoed repeatedly by some elected Republicans in Mesa County.
“It was about the rule of law. It was about defending the integrity of elections and making sure that someone who takes an oath to operate in a legitimate and legal fashion doesn't undermine the oath of office, doesn't break the law that was tried to a jury of her peers,” Weiser said.
| This story is part of a collection tracking the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second administration on the lives of everyday Coloradans. Since taking office, Trump has overhauled nearly every aspect of the federal government; journalists from CPR News, KRCC and Denverite are staying on top of what that means for you. Read more here. |
