Trump threatens ‘harsh measures’ if convicted GOP election denier Tina Peters not freed

by Brett Samuels - 08/21/25 9:59 AM ET

President Trump on Thursday re-upped his call for Colorado to free Tina Peters, a state election official who was convicted of multiple felonies after breaching voting equipment in the 2020 election, warning he would take “harsh measures” if she is not released.

“FREE TINA PETERS, a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians, including the big Mail-In Ballot supporting the governor of the State,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW.”

He continued, “She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!”

Trump did not specify what those measures would be but has in the past threatened to withhold funding from other states and jurisdictions if they do not align with his policies.

Peters, a former Mesa County clerk, was found guilty by a jury in 2024 on seven counts, including four felonies, for helping to facilitate access to the county’s voting equipment in search of voter fraud that she and her allies were unable to prove following the 2020 election.

Peters, who is 69, was eventually sentenced to nine years behind bars. Trump has in the past championed Peters’s cause, and in May he directed the Justice Department to take action to secure her release.

Trump has for years spread the disproven claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” and stolen because of widespread voter fraud.

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The president has used those claims to push for an end to mail-in voting and other sweeping changes to election procedures, even though experts have noted there are exceedingly few instances of voter fraud involving mail ballots, and those cases are caught.

Trump in March signed an executive order that would have directed states to require proof of citizenship when people register to vote. He has signaled he is planning to sign another order targeting mail-in voting.

But states handle the administration of elections, and any federal attempts to seize control of the process would face certain legal hurdles.