Colorado appeals court orders resentencing for election conspiracist Tina Peters

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado appeals court ruled Thursday that a former county clerk convicted in a scheme that attempted to find proof of fraud in the 2020 presidential election should be resentenced.

Tina Peters is serving a nine-year prison term after being convicted of state crimes for sneaking in an outside computer expert to make a copy of her county’s election computer system during a software update in 2021. A photo and video of confidential voting system passwords were later posted on social media and a conservative website.

Judges on the Colorado Court of Appeals said that a judge should not have considered Peters’ continued promotion of election fraud conspiracies when he sentenced her in 2024. The court sent Peters’ case back to a lower court for a judge to issue a new sentence.

Peters’ release has become a cause celebre in the election conspiracy movement. President Donald Trump has pressured Colorado to set her free.