President Donald Trump did not wait for the ball to drop before launching a blistering attack on Colorado officials this New Year’s Eve. Taking to Truth Social on Wednesday, the President defended jailed former election clerk Tina Peters while explicitly wishing “the worst” upon those who prosecuted her.
“May they rot in Hell,” Trump wrote, capping off a post that portrayed the 73-year-old Peters as a martyr of a “phony” election system.
The President’s message focused on Peters, the former Mesa County clerk currently serving a nine-year prison sentence. Trump lamented her incarceration, writing, “God Bless Tina Peters, who is now, for two years out of nine, sitting in a Colorado Maximum Security Prison… for the ‘crime’ of trying to stop the massive voter fraud that goes on in her State.”
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He directed his ire at the officials responsible for her conviction, referring to Colorado’s Governor as a “scumbag” and the prosecuting District Attorney as a “disgusting” Republican in Name Only (RINO).
“Hard to wish her a Happy New Year, but to the Scumbag Governor, and the disgusting ‘Republican’ (RINO!) DA, who did this to her… I wish them only the worst,” Trump stated.
While the post did not name them directly, the “RINO” comment appears to target Dan Rubinstein, the Republican District Attorney for Colorado’s 21st Judicial District who led the prosecution. The “scumbag” reference is definitely aimed at Democratic Governor Jared Polis.
The social media outburst follows a significant but legally complex move by the President earlier this month. On December 5, Trump issued a presidential pardon to Peters.
However, because Peters was convicted of state crimes rather than federal offenses, the validity of the pardon is in dispute. Presidential pardon powers typically do not extend to state-level convictions.
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Despite this jurisdictional hurdle, Peters’ legal team filed a motion last week, asking a judge to recognize the pardon and release her from prison. Her lawyers argue that the Colorado appeals court no longer has jurisdiction over the case. The appeals court has given the state attorney general’s office until January 8 to respond to these arguments.
Peters was convicted for orchestrating a security breach of the Mesa County election system. Prosecutors demonstrated that she allowed an unauthorized individual to access voting equipment and deceived officials about his identity.
The individual was affiliated with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO known for promoting theories regarding the 2020 election.
During her sentencing in October 2024, Judge Matthew Barrett offered a scathing assessment of her actions, calling Peters a “charlatan” who posed a danger to the community by actively undermining the democratic process. Peters, however, remained unapologetic, insisting her actions were a necessary attempt to uncover fraud.
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