In December 2025, Tina Peters, a former elections supervisor for Mesa County in Colorado, was back in the news for another national story due to an unprecedented and controversial presidential pardon announcement by former President Donald Trump. After gaining fame amongst election conspiracy theorists after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Peters was recently sentenced to several years in prison.
- Tina Peters Pardon
- Why Was She Convicted?
- Trump’s Pardon Announcement
- Why The Pardon Is Seen As Invalid?
- Political Responses And Consequences
- Tina Peters Pardon-Conclusion
- FAQ’s On Tina Peters Pardon
- What state crimes has Tina Peters been found guilty of committing?
- Can a president grant someone who has been charged with a state crime a presidential pardon?
- Is the Federal pardon for Tina Peters sufficient to allow her to exit prison?
- Is Tina Peters currently imprisoned?
Tina Peters was convicted of several state criminal offences related to illegally accessing secured voting machines. With Trump’s announcement that he is giving Peters a “full pardon”, there is once again heightened controversy regarding constitutional law, presidential powers, states’ rights, and future election security in America.
Tina Peters Pardon
Tina Peters was Mesa County Clerk and Recorder in Colorado, but she became more well-known nationally after the 2020 election due to being indicted on charges for allegedly allowing an outside person access to the county’s secured voting machines and other election-related data.
Why Was She Convicted?
In 2024, she was tried by jury and found guilty of seven separate offences (attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy, official misconduct, and violation of official election duties) and was given a nine-year term at the state prison, with part of it served at the county detention centre and the remaining part at the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Peters has continued asserting her innocence and is a highly divisive individual, viewed by many of her supporters as a heroic figure taking a stand against alleged election fraud, while others consider her actions to be irresponsible and potentially damaging to democracy. Read below to know the full details about the Tina Peters Pardon.
Trump’s Pardon Announcement
On 11-12 December 2025, Donald Trump announced via a social media post that he would be pardoning Tina Peters entirely. He praised Peters for her “courage” in fighting for what he claims is voter fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election, and he portrayed Peters as having been wrongfully persecuted due to her beliefs and actions as a “patriot”.
Main points regarding Tina’s Peters PARDON:
- TRUTH SOCIAL was how Trump announced the PARDON.
- Trump has not provided any evidence to back up his continued assertions that the 2020 Presidential Election was “stolen”.
- The PARDON announcement has not come from any Federal Court ruling or indications that anything about Tina Peters’ ongoing jail sentence or status had changed.
Why The Pardon Is Seen As Invalid?
Legal analysts, scholars and Colorado personnel agree that the president of the United States is not authorised under the Constitution to grant pardons for individuals convicted of crimes under state law (this includes Peters) and that the U.S. Constitution does not provide pardon power for state offences only federal ones.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold described the pardon as “an attack on the rights of the states and the Constitution.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has stated that neither a request for a transfer of Peters from prison nor for a commutation of her sentence has been granted by the Colorado Department of Corrections and that Peters remains in custody in Colorado while serving her sentence.
Political Responses And Consequences
The supporters of Peters and Trump have reacted positively to the announcement of the pardon, perceiving it as a rejection of their perceived political targeting. Additionally, some have recommended pursuing legal methods of transferring her to federal custody as a possible way to continue this effort; however, this idea does not enjoy significant support from state officials.
While opponents of the pardon and some constitutional law analysts assert that the pardon is largely a matter of symbolism, with many cautions about how it creates uncertainty and confusion regarding the separation of powers between state and federal jurisdictions, critics argue that the act of intervening in a state prosecution on a non-constitutional basis presents many risks for establishing an unsafe precedent.
Tina Peters Pardon-Conclusion
Donald Trump’s announcement of a pardon for Tina Peters in December 2025 raised a firestorm of legal, political, and constitutional discussion. Although the former president referred to Peters as a defender of election integrity and offered her a “full pardon,” it should be noted that a presidential pardon does not alleviate a person’s state conviction or an active prison sentence.
FAQ’s On Tina Peters Pardon
What state crimes has Tina Peters been found guilty of committing?
There are seven state criminal offences for which Peters was found guilty, including but not limited to attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit impersonation as a crime, unlawful conduct and others relating to illegally accessing election-related equipment in 2021.
Can a president grant someone who has been charged with a state crime a presidential pardon?
The president cannot pardon anyone who has been convicted of a state crime or any subsequent sentence.
Is the Federal pardon for Tina Peters sufficient to allow her to exit prison?
No. The Federal Court has given Tina Peters a pardon. Since Xe failed to comply with the requirements under State Law to receive a Presidential Clemency under the U.S.
Is Tina Peters currently imprisoned?
Yes, she is currently imprisoned in a Colorado State correctional facility.
