DENVER – Colorado has decided against transferring a former county clerk, who has gained notoriety among election conspiracy theorists, to federal custody despite a request from the Trump administration, according to state officials on Wednesday.
The Colorado Department of Corrections has no plans to relocate Tina Peters, who was convicted last year for orchestrating a plot in Mesa County. This scheme involved breaching voting machine data, fueled by baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
“The decision to transfer an inmate is initiated solely by the Colorado Department of Corrections,” clarified department spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia in an email, dispelling any notion of outside influence in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Prisons offered no comment on the situation.
Peters, now 70, is currently serving a nine-year sentence at a state facility in Pueblo.
The request from the Bureau of Prisons, dated November 12, asked for her transfer to federal custody. However, the motivations behind this request remain undisclosed.
A copy of the request released by the state corrections department was heavily redacted. The department said releasing that information was “contrary to the public interest.”
Peters’ release has become a cause celebre in the election conspiracy movement. On Sunday, President Donald Trump renewed his call for her to be set free. One of Peters’ lawyers, Peter Ticktin, suggested on Trump ally Steve Bannon’s podcast this week that the military be used to free Peters from prison.
County clerks in Colorado of various political affiliations blame Peters for making their jobs more dangerous by fueling distrust in the voting system. They have been urging Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, to definitively reject the federal transfer request.
In a statement Tuesday, a Polis spokesperson praised the integrity of the state’s election system and said the governor welcomes a chance to meet with the clerks about the federal transfer request but did not directly address it.
“Governor Polis takes his responsibilities seriously and has been clear that he will take threats from the federal government head-on – especially when they undermine our democracy – which is why we have vigorously defended Colorado’s values during this turbulent time,” Polis spokesperson Shelby Wieman said.
Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the state corrections department is ultimately under Polis’ control and will do what he directs it to.
“The open-ended statement from the Department of Corrections does not alleviate our concerns,” he said.
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