Gov Jared Polis told a Colorado Sun event that his decision to give clemency to Tina Peters "will be remembered fondly." [View all]

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Gov Jared Polis told a Colorado Sun event that his decision to give clemency to Tina Peters "will be remembered fondly."

He was later interrupted by protesters carrying an enormous banner reading EAT SHIT POLIS

Gov Jared Polis told a Colorado Sun event that his decision to give clemency to Tina Peters "will be remembered fondly."

He was later interrupted by protesters carrying an enormous banner reading EAT SHIT POLIS coloradosun.com/2026/05/19/j...

— Kyle Clark (@kylec.bsky.social) 2026-05-20T02:40:46.335Z

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday said he doesn’t regret his decision to commute the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, despite widespread condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans, who said it will embolden election conspiracy theorists ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“I think this will be remembered fondly,” Polis said at The Colorado Sun’s annual legislative recap event at the University of Denver. “The nation needs to have a reconciliation and healing.

“People know I’m a man of action,” he added. “I’m a bold person, I’m going to do things that I think are right, and that’s why people put me here. They want me to do things that I think are right.”

Peters, an ally of President Donald Trump who has touted election conspiracy theories, was convicted in August 2024 of orchestrating a security breach of her county’s election system in a failed 2021 attempt to uncover voter fraud. Polis on Friday cut Peters’ nine-year prison sentence in half and ordered her to be released on parole June 1, saying she was being unfairly punished for her political views.