WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump issued what amounts to a symbolic "pardon" of Tina Peters, a former Republican county clerk in Colorado imprisoned for letting someone access data from a secure voting system in an effort to prove baseless 2020 election denial conspiracies.

Trump announced the "pardon" of Peters in a Dec. 11 post on X. However, Peters ‒ who remains the only Trump ally in prison for crimes related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election ‒ was convicted on state charges. Trump's pardon power as president only extends to federal charges, meaning Peters will remain in prison and her conviction stands.

"Democrats have been relentless in their targeting of TINA PETERS, a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the 'crime' of demanding Honest Elections. Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!"

Trump's statement came after a federal magistrate judge on Dec. 8 rejected a bid by the 69-year-old Peters to be released from prison as she appeals her 2024 state conviction.

Peters, a former clerk and recorder in Colorado who denies President Joe Biden won the 2020 election over Trump, was sentenced to nine years in prison in October 2024 on seven state charges involving tampering with Mesa County’s election machines.

She was found guilty on three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct and violation of duty and failing to comply with the Colorado secretary of state.

Peters was running for Colorado secretary of state at the time of the indictment, and attracted significant attention over the case. Her campaign website now calls her a “political prisoner” and “whistleblower” who has been “silenced for standing for truth.” Over the past year, "Free Tina Peters" has become a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters as they argue Peters was prosecuted and sentenced unfairly.

State prosecutors said Peters and a deputy clerk conspired to turn off security cameras in the room where Mesa County's voting machines were stored and improperly granted access to an outside activist by stealing someone else’s identity.

They then refused to turn over documentation and records to state elections officials investigating the possible breach, prosecutors said, which occurred during what was supposed to be a secure “trusted build” software update by state officials.

The deputy clerk pretended to hire an IT consultant, used the individual's name and Social Security number to pass a background check and acquire a security clearance and access badge, according to prosecutors. That badge allowed former surfer Conan Hayes, who was acquainted with election-denier and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, to enter the secure room where the machines were stored and take images of the voting machines and associated data.

Contributing: Kathryn Palmer of USA TODAY

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump grants 'pardon' to Tina Peters that doesn't free her from prison

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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