Colorado Governor Jared Polis Friday commuted the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, an election denier who was convicted and sentenced for her role in a breach of her office’s election system.

Polis cut Peters’ sentence from nine years to four years and four and a half months, making her eligible to be released on parole June 1. 

“The crimes you were convicted of are very serious and you deserve to spend time in prison for these offenses,” Polis said in his letter granting Peters’ commutation. “However, this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes.”

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A Mesa County jury convicted Peters on multiple felony counts, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant. During her 2024 trial, Peters, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, spread conspiracy theories about voting machines, as she had previously done after the 2020 presidential election.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said Polis’ decision will “validate and embolden the election denial movement, and leave a dark, dangerous imprint on American democracy for years to come.” 

Judge Matthew Barrett of the 21st Judicial District sentenced Peters to nine years in state prison in October 2024. The sentence included three and a half years for each felony count. 

Polis’ commutation is a resounding victory for Trump and his allies in the election conspiracy theory movement, who have waged a scattershot campaign of legal maneuvering and political coercion seeking Peters’ release. One of the country’s most prominent election deniers, she was convicted on multiple felony counts in connection with a 2021 breach of her office’s secure elections equipment in a failed attempt to find evidence of fraud.

The decision by Polis, a Democrat, comes over the objections of a chorus of voices from across Colorado’s political spectrum, including Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser and Republican Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, who jointly prosecuted Peters; every single Democratic member of the state Legislature; several prominent conservative commentators on state politics; and the bipartisan Colorado County Clerks Association, whose Republican president had tearfully urged Polis not to take a step she said would put election workers in harm’s way.

Trump has targeted Colorado over the state’s incarceration of Peters, whom he illegitimately pardoned in December. The president threatened “harsh measures” if she isn’t released, which have included the veto of a unanimously passed bill to fund a southern Colorado water project, the denial of two disaster declaration requests, and the proposed dismantling of Boulder’s National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Chase Woodruff contributed to this report.