News
By Michael Hernandez, 7-23-25
DENVER, CO–Attorneys for Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk, a Republican now 69, argued today (July 22) before the United States Tenth Circuit District Court for the District of Colorado Chief Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak at the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse (901 19th Street) that Peters’ imprisonment without bail violates her 1st Amendment rights.
Procedural questions were asked by the Chief Magistrate to attorneys from both sides with this second hearing delayed until at least Friday for additional written arguments to be filed by Peters’ attorneys. (Editor’s Note: A Chief Magistrate is a local judicial officer who is appointed to administer and enforce law.)
Tina Peters, who raised questions about the 2020 election results, was found guilty on 7 of 10 charges in August, 2024 without chance of bail. Her convictions resulted in a 9-year sentence to be served in state prison (with six months to be served in county jail) for seven state charges, including four felonies.
President Donald J. Trump in a post on Truth Social on March 3, 2025 directed the U.S. Department of Justice to “take all necessary action to help secure” Peters’ release adding, “FREE TINA PETERS NOW!” The Justice Department raised concerns about the length of Paters’ sentence, as well as “First Amendment implications” and raised an issue about the decision to withhold bail, while the conviction is being appealed.
The Justice Department said it intends to evaluate “the state of Colorado’s prosecution of Ms. Peters and, in particular, whether the case was ‘oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.’”
A “statement of interest” was filed by Yaakov Roth, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and J. Bishop Grewell, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado.
Peters’ conviction was spearheaded by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a member of the Democratic Party, who has been Colorado’s 39th Attorney General since winning the 2018 election. He announced on Jan. 2, 2025, his run for 2026 Colorado’s gubernatorial election. Assisting Colorado Attorney General Weiser was Dan Rubinstein, 21st judicial district attorney and a Republican.
Twenty-first Judicial District Judge Matthew Barrett in giving his sentence said Peters had found a way to profit off of lies and would continue to do so if she remained out of prison. Based on the seriousness of her crimes and the damage they caused to trust in voting nationwide “prison is the only place” for Peters, Barrett said. He added that the damage she caused is unmeasurable.”
Photo By Larry Robinson, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
(Editor’s Note: Read Judge Matthew Barrett’s comments/transcript to Tina Peters in the Oct. 4, 2024 Colorado Politics: https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/transcript-of-judge-matthew-barretts-comments-to-former-mesa-county-clerk-and-recorder-tina-peters/article_f2f82a0c-8274-11ef-a74e-271faa074a98.html.)
Peters’ claims of election fraud in the 2020 elections were challenged by Colorado’s 39th Secretary of State Jena Marie Griswold, the first Democrat to be elected Colorado Secretary of State since 1958. She won her office in 2018 as the youngest Secretary of State in the United States (at 34 years of age) and was reelected to office in 2022.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s longtime attorney Peter Ticktin, founder of the Ticktin Law Group along with two other Peters’ attorneys: Stefanie Lambert and Bob Cynkar travelled to the Colorado facility where Peter remains incarcerated.
According to Jason Sullivan (July 21) of The Gateway Pundit, Tuesday’s hearing was on whether Tina Peters’ limited petition for a writ of habeas corpus will be allowed to proceed or be dismissed outright. Attorney Peter Ticktin has described the state’s motion as an attempt to terminate the case before her constitutional claims can ever be heard.
President Trump posting May 5 on Truth Social stated: “Radical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud. Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment. This is a Communist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their Election crimes and misdeeds in 2020.”
(Editor’s Note: To read the original Aug. 12, 2024 story with which outlines the allegation and charges against Mesa, Colorado Clerk Tina Peters by Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/08/breaking-former-mesa-co-clerk-election-patriot-tina/ To read the Citizens Journal Florida story on Tina Peters sentencing written by Michael Hernandez and Laura Hobbs go to: https://www.citizensjournal.net/former-mesa-co-clerk-tina-peters-found-guilty-on-7-of-10-charges-part-i/.)
Michael Hernandez, is co-founder of the Citizens Journal-Ventura County’s online news service and writes for Citizensjournal.net (an online news platform in Nassau County FL) and MountainTopMedia.com (an online media platform in Shasta County, CA). He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “CaliRed News” on Substack.com and “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes.” Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists and can be contacted at [email protected] or on his website: MikeHernandezMedia.com.
