Colorado court throws out election denier Tina Peters' 9-year sentence for tampering with election equipment

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: NBC News

BREAKING NEWS

Apr. 2, 2026, 11:45 AM EDT
Politics News

Colorado court throws out election denier Tina Peters' 9-year sentence for tampering with election equipment

The state appeals court is asking the trial court to resentence Peters.

By Gary Grumbach and Dareh Gregorian

The Colorado Court of Appeals has thrown out election denier Tina Peters' nine-year prison sentence, finding that the lower court violated her First Amendment right to free speech related to her allegations of election fraud.

"The trial court's comments about Peters's belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond relevant considerations for her sentencing," a three-judge panel wrote in a 77-page opinion. "Her offense was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud; it was her deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud. Indeed, under these circumstances, just as her purported beliefs underlying her motive for her actions were not relevant to her defense, the trial court should not have considered those beliefs relevant when imposing sentence."

The judges wrote that it was "apparent" the lower court imposed the sentence it did because Tina Peters continued to espouse election denying views.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/colorado-court-throws-election-denier-tina-peters-sentence-trump-rcna266421

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Reposted by Bad And Very Boring Popehat
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Lawrence Hurley
‪@lawrencehurley.bsky.social‬

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/colorado-court-throws-election-denier-tina-peters-sentence-trump-rcna266421

Colorado court throws out election denier Tina Peters' 9-year sentence for tampering with election equipment
The state appeals court is asking the trial court to resentence Peters.
www.nbcnews.com
11:58 AM · Apr 2, 2026
******

www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T15:58:54.003Z

==========

More:

https://www.joemygod.com/2026/04/appeals-court-upholds-tina-peters-conviction-but-orders-original-colorado-judge-to-issue-new-sentence/

[bluestarone]

1. Total fucking

BULLSHIT!!

[Harker]

2. Okay. Eight and a half.

[reACTIONary]

4. Eight and Three Quarters.

[Harker]

6. Let's compromise, and knock off a week.

[reACTIONary]

12. As long as it's at least an hour under 9 years...

.... I think it will pass strict review!

[Ray Bruns]

3. I hope they appeal, she has shown no remorse at all.

[gab13by13]

5. The poor lady in Texas

who thought she was OK to vote got 5 years in jail.

[CrispyQ]

7. And I was having a realatively good day.....

[pandr32]

8. I thought willful ignorance was no excuse!

[pat_k]

13. 9 yrs is insufficient for one of the most serious election security breaches in our nation's history.

Murdering a person is generally viewed as the most heinous of crimes. I would argue that an attack on free and fair elections is more egregious. It is an attack on a fundamental right of the entire American electorate.

To compound the crime, she had a sworn duty to ensure the lawful administration of an election. She violated that duty in a corrupt conspiracy to deceive the public and committed her crimes to advance a lie.

And worse, the fact she continues to push the lie she committed her crimes to advance demonstrates more than a lack of remorse. It is effectively a declaration that, if ever given the opportunity, she would commit new crimes to undermine the integrity of our elections.

She is as much a danger to the ENTIRE public as a remorseless murderer is to individual members of that public.

[The Grand Illuminist]

18. Maybe, more than likely, too dangerous..

nt

[pandr32]

22. What was it te right used to chant about Sec. Clinton?

"Lock her up!"
It totally works here.

[BurnDoubt]

24. Yep!

And: YEP!!!

[EuterpeThelo]

31. Absolute

thread winner, Pat K. Thank you for posting it.

[The Madcap]

9. She must be joining the Cabinet of Clowns.

She would fit right in. Fraudulent behavior, convictions, and a conspiracy theorist.

Something really smells about this.

[groundloop]

21. She'll be heading up the Federal Election Commission by the end of next month.

[ScratchCat]

10. I understand that what she did was wrong

and strikes at the core of our system of Democracy, but nobody her age without a prior record gets nine years for a crime which was not violent, didn't involve substantial financial harm or was not sexual in nature. You can kill someone in vehicular manslaughter and get less time than that. I had a neighbor who was a registered sex offender who did less than 9 years.

[EuterpeThelo]

14. What she did

constitutes a crime equivalent to a violent hate crime in my book, trying to rig elections and force Republicans on an unwilling populace who didn't vote for them. If the orange menace had not been installed by Russia or Musk or whomever else aided and abetted him (because you will NEVER convince me he won fair and square in either 2016 OR 2024), my soulmate and hundreds of thousands of others might still be alive, even more millions of people would not have been terrorized and traumatized and what they are doing and have done to Mother Earth and all its innocent non-human residents is not only an unspeakable level of wholesale murder but likely irreversible at this point.

[niyad]

16. See post 13

[orangecrush]

17. Give her 8 years

Sounds fair.

[BurnDoubt]

25. Nope.

[pat_k]

11. So, a reduced sentence, despite the fact that she is still peddling lies about fraud --

... lies she committed crimes to advance in a conspiracy to deceive the people she had a duty to serve, lies that continue, demonstrating no remorse, and in fact that demonstrate an intent to commit such crimes again if given a chance...

Arrrgghh

[orangecrush]

15. It's "apparent" someone got paid or blackmailed

[MichMan]

29. It was a unanimous decision

Ted C. Tow III
Craig R. Welling
Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov

All were nominated for the Appeals Court by Democratic Gov. Hickenlooper, who is now a US Senator.

You believe all three of them were bribed?

[bluestarone]

19. Nothing wrong with the lower court to wait, say 7 years before deciding how much to lower her sentence. Hell,

Supreme court does that all the time.

[Just Jerome]

20. Restitution, perhaps ?

[BurnDoubt]

23. I think she should get Life.

This might be the most serious offense in a Democracy.
The punishment for disenfranchising a voter should be Severe.
Of course I feel that EVERY Citizen should be required to Vote in order to be entitled to the Rights, Responsibilities and benefits of Citizenship.
And every Citizen’s Vote should be counted.
And denying anyone their Franchise should be found guilty of a Felony.

[SheltieLover]

26. Agreed!

[Diraven]

27. So motive is not allowed in prosecutions anymore?

Apparently not, provided the motive is right wing conspiracy theory.

[Bayard]

28. Injustice served,

And your president thanks you.

[riversedge]

30. I am sure that Trumpie will do his little foolish 'dance'!!

[EuterpeThelo]

32. Yes

the one where he looks like he's jerking off two giraffes.