Overview
- The three-judge panel, which ruled Thursday, upheld Peters’ 2024 convictions but threw out her nearly nine-year term and sent the case back for a new sentencing hearing.
- The opinion says the judge wrongly factored in Peters’ public claims about 2020 election fraud, noting sentencing must target her actions, not her beliefs or statements.
- The court confirmed the president’s December pardon has no effect on her state crimes and rejected her argument that the Constitution’s supremacy clause shields her from prosecution.
- In 2021, Peters let an outside technician copy Mesa County’s election system during a software update, and the data later appeared online; a jury convicted her of four felonies including attempts to influence a public servant and official misconduct.
- Peters remains at the La Vista prison in Pueblo as a new hearing is prepared, with Gov. Jared Polis signaling he may consider clemency and top state election and law officials warning against special treatment.