US Politics
MAGA lawyer wants Trump to send in the 101st Airborne to free election-denier Tina Peters
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An attorney representing jailed election-denier Tina Peters has backed sending in the U.S. military to bust his client out of prison, where she is currently languishing after being convicted over her part in the plot to overturn the 2020 election.
Peter Ticktin made the comments during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast Tuesday when he was asked if President Donald Trump should dispatch the celebrated 101st Airborne Division to free Peters, 70, the disgraced former county clerk of Mesa County, Colorado.
“Do I think it should be done? For who I am, yeah – I’d love to see that happen,” Ticktin answered.
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Peters is serving a nine-year jail sentence after being convicted in August 2024 of seven out of 10 charges, four of which were felonies, for allowing an associate of MyPillow salesman and Trump loyalist Mike Lindell to access a secure room to make a copy of a hard drive containing data from the state’s 2020 presidential election results, all in support of Trump’s still-unproven fraud narrative, which attempted to discredit and overturn Joe Biden’s win by baselessly crying conspiracy.
Despite repeatedly protesting her innocence, including while guesting on Bannon’s show, Peters was told by District Court Judge Matthew Barrett at her sentencing hearing last October: “You are no hero. You’re a charlatan who used, and is still using, your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again.”
Barrett’s reprimand has not stopped her from becoming a MAGA cause celebre, with Trump himself directing the Department of Justice in May to take action to secure her release, subsequently threatening Colorado with “harsh measures” if Peters was not freed.
The administration requested that she be transferred to federal custody earlier this month, citing concerns for her health.
A bipartisan group of Colorado county clerks reacted to that development by issuing a rare joint statement to their Democratic governor, Jared Polis, urging him to resist the call and accusing him of betraying election workers by staying silent.
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“This should be a no-brainer for the governor,” Paul Lopez, Denver’s clerk and recorder, said. “Now’s the time to prove your mettle.”
On Sunday, Trump repeated his call for Peters’ release on Truth Social, demanding in all-caps: “FREE TINA PETERS, WHO SITS IN A COLORADO PRISON, DYING & OLD, FOR ATTEMPTING TO EXPOSE VOTER FRAUD IN THE RIGGED 2O20 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!!!”
While Gov. Polis has not addressed the growing pressure campaign on Peters’ behalf, Colorado’s Attorney General Jenna Griswold has been unambiguous, saying in a statement Friday: “Tina Peters stands alone as an example of the nefarious actions and outcomes of election denialism.
“Her deliberate and criminal actions were perpetrated in support of Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie.’ She violated Colorado law and her duty to administer Mesa County elections. She was found guilty of her crimes by a jury of her peers, after an extensive trial.
“Peters is serving her sentence in state prison for state crimes that harmed her community and violated the trust placed in her office. She is incarcerated because she broke Colorado law.”
Local MAGA podcaster Joe Oltmann has meanwhile ratcheted up the tension even further by calling for the execution of Polis and other state officials over their handling of the Peters case, saying they should “hang by their neck until dead.”
