Colorado governor faces backlash over clemency for 2020 election denier Tina Peters

Colorado's Governor Jared Polis is facing criticism from fellow Democrats after commuting the prison sentence of former county clerk Tina Peters, a 2020 election denier convicted of tampering with election equipment. Polis, who previously described Peters' nine-year sentence as "harsh", announced on Friday that she would be released on parole in June. Colorado's top election official and Secretary of State Jena Griswold called it "an affront to our democracy", while some others warned it could embolden efforts to undermine confidence in future elections. Moments after the announcement, President Donald Trump, who for months has pushed for her release, wrote on social media: "FREE TINA!". Peters, a Republican, was convicted in August 2024 on seven counts for her role in breaching Mesa County's election computer systems and allowing an unauthorised individual to access voting equipment and election records. She carried out the breach amid unsubstantiated claims that mass voter fraud had caused Trump to lose the White House in the 2020 presidential election. The case became one of the most high-profile prosecutions connected to attempts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election, w