ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
It is Christmastime in Colorado, and behind concrete walls and steel doors at the La Vista Correctional Facility, a medium-security women’s prison in Pueblo, sits Colorado’s most valuable political scalp.
Whether one agrees with Tina Peters’ politics, worldview, or actions, this much is undeniable: She is not a powerful figure.
Peters is an older woman, having just celebrated her 70th birthday in prison on September 11th. She is a Gold Star mother who buried her Navy Seal son, a cancer survivor who beat the odds, and a Western Slope clerk who dared to disbelieve Jena Griswold and Matt Crane.
Her name would never have reached the national stage if not for a single decision — a decision she says she made because the public entrusted her with their democracy.
That decision, and the avalanche that followed, made her a national symbol. To some, Peters is a villain … a threat to democracy … a criminal that got what she deserved. To others, she is a hero … a canary in the coal mine … a political prisoner … a victim of weaponized government and asymmetrical justice.
She’s something else, too: a sick, septuagenarian woman spending the holidays in prison because, as she tells it, she believed that her sworn duty mattered more than the personal consequences.
“I couldn’t unsee it.”
The official story condenses Tina Peters into a caricature: “rogue clerk,” “conspiracy theorist,” “election denier.” The courts claim she is a danger to our community because of what she might say. Her speech is a threat to democracy!
How very democratic.
A Colorado clerk’s job is not glamorous. It’s long hours, endless paperwork, and being a human complaint desk. It certainly doesn’t come with an instruction manual for what to do when half the country loses faith in the election system, and the other half refuses to discuss it.
When questions came in after the 2020 election, Peters didn’t dismiss them. She didn’t lecture the voters petitioning her office. When the state told her to simply trust the “trusted build,” she hesitated — because she didn’t. She knew inside that transparency mattered.
Peters undertook an unprecedented effort to retain two copies of Mesa County’s voting system — one before the system was allegedly wiped and one after. Four professional reports by cyber experts followed. Those reports were dismissed because Peters became the story.
“You are a charlatan.”
It was not a polite disagreement. It was not administrative discipline. It was the full weight of the state — in all its public-private partnerships — crushing their ideological opposition.
They made an example of her. The message to other clerks was clear: Stand down. To date, only one other county has dared to challenge the Colorado Department of State. (That county has also faced retaliation).
The state charged Peters with attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, identity theft, first degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with requirements of the Secretary of State.
Note that these charges are not about violating election statutes. Tina Peters was not convicted of voter fraud or meddling in elections or anything even resembling the oft-told narrative.
Peters made a single misrepresentation — that Conan Hayes was Jerry Woods — to three people. That and the conspiracy to make that misrepresentation comprise the four felonies of which she was convicted.
Peters was never allowed to explain her intent to the jury. The state’s key witness appeared to have lied on the stand at trial (without personal consequence, though Peters was acquitted on the related charges.) The judge showed open bias in front of the jury and, in his sentencing, cited facts not in evidence — because he prevented the jury from hearing them (though he relied on them himself).
It was a good show. In the end, the public believed the drama and bought the well-crafted and entirely controlled conclusion. Peters was a threat to democracy but democracy was just fine. Gold standard, even.
This storytelling is why otherwise kind and merciful Coloradans will jeer and cheer about a sick, old lady sitting in prison at Christmas.
“Truth will prevail.”
Peters prays for those who put her in prison. She rejoices in her suffering, and she maintains that the truth will out. It’s hard to believe she maintains that belief — until you remember her story.
She has buried a child. She beat cancer. She’s been through worse than prison, and she survived.
Her supporters call her indestructible.
Colorado officials want the public to forget about Tina Peters. Accept the sentence, move on, leave this chapter behind. Recently, the Attorney General, Mesa District Attorney, and Colorado County Clerks Association sent letters to Governor Polis, fearing he may commute her sentence and begging him to not.
They want her story to fade.
But it won’t fade.
Whether one believes Tina Peters is a heroine or a fool, brave or misguided, justified or reckless, what’s happening to her is not justice. It’s politics. Colorado holds her like a trophy, they apply an inequitable judicial standard, and it’s all undeniably political.
Of course, for a sick, 70 year old cancer survivor, it’s not just political. It’s also a likely death sentence.
That’s a fact year-round, but it hits differently at Christmas.
Ashe in America is an independent writer, host, and activist in Colorado. Learn more at linktree.com/asheinamerica.
