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Saturday, Nov 15, 2025
Outside the box.
Trump Administration Seeks Federal Custody of Imprisoned Colorado Elections Clerk
Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters may be transferred from state to federal prison at Washington’s request amid election-law turmoil
The Trump administration has moved to transfer former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from Colorado state prison into federal custody, a request confirmed this week by the Colorado Department of Corrections.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) sent a letter on Wednesday requesting her transfer, according to the department’s spokesperson, Alondra Gonzalez.
The move marks a rare federal intervention in a state-level conviction.
Peters, aged seventy, was convicted in August 2024 on four felony and three misdemeanor counts for orchestrating an unauthorised breach of her county’s election-system data in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
A nine-year sentence followed.
She has remained incarcerated at a state facility in Pueblo.
One of Peters’ attorneys, Peter Ticktin, said the letter did not explicitly state the rationale behind the transfer request, though he suggested it may facilitate her involvement in ongoing investigations of voting systems or respond to health concerns.
He emphasised the move is not a release request but a change in custodial jurisdiction.
President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly called for Peters’ release, describing her as a “brave and innocent patriot” and pledging measures to secure her freedom.
However, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the request is baseless and pledged to fight any effort to subvert state law accountability.
Legal experts note federal transfer of a defendant convicted under state law is highly uncommon.
The Department of Justice had earlier filed arguments asserting that Peters’ prosecution raised First Amendment and due-process concerns, formalising her case as part of a broader review of alleged “abuses of the criminal justice process.”
The dispute now sets the stage for a constitutional clash over federal-state jurisdiction, presidential influence and the independence of election oversight.
For now, the custodial status of Peters remains in legal limbo while state and federal authorities deliberate the transfer request and its implications for oversight of election-official misconduct.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) sent a letter on Wednesday requesting her transfer, according to the department’s spokesperson, Alondra Gonzalez.
The move marks a rare federal intervention in a state-level conviction.
Peters, aged seventy, was convicted in August 2024 on four felony and three misdemeanor counts for orchestrating an unauthorised breach of her county’s election-system data in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
A nine-year sentence followed.
She has remained incarcerated at a state facility in Pueblo.
One of Peters’ attorneys, Peter Ticktin, said the letter did not explicitly state the rationale behind the transfer request, though he suggested it may facilitate her involvement in ongoing investigations of voting systems or respond to health concerns.
He emphasised the move is not a release request but a change in custodial jurisdiction.
President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly called for Peters’ release, describing her as a “brave and innocent patriot” and pledging measures to secure her freedom.
However, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the request is baseless and pledged to fight any effort to subvert state law accountability.
Legal experts note federal transfer of a defendant convicted under state law is highly uncommon.
The Department of Justice had earlier filed arguments asserting that Peters’ prosecution raised First Amendment and due-process concerns, formalising her case as part of a broader review of alleged “abuses of the criminal justice process.”
The dispute now sets the stage for a constitutional clash over federal-state jurisdiction, presidential influence and the independence of election oversight.
For now, the custodial status of Peters remains in legal limbo while state and federal authorities deliberate the transfer request and its implications for oversight of election-official misconduct.
