Attorneys for Tina Peters this week asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to order that the former Mesa County clerk “must be released from custody forthwith” following the signing of a pardon document by President Donald Trump earlier this month.

Trump does not have the power to pardon Peters, who was convicted in state court and is now serving a nine-year sentence in state prison for her role in a breach of her office’s election systems, part of an attempt to find evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. But her attorneys pursued a presidential pardon anyway, expressing hope that the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court will rewrite the centuries-old legal doctrine of dual sovereignty in criminal proceedings.

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Peters’ motion, the latest in a series of attempts by her attorneys and allies in the election conspiracy theory movement to force her release from state custody, was filed on Dec. 23 in her pending case before Colorado’s second-highest court, where she has appealed her August 2024 conviction, arguing that her imprisonment violates her First Amendment right of free speech. Peters has separately petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, while Trump’s Department of Justice has formally requested her transfer to federal custody, a request the state has rejected.

The new filing asks the Colorado Court of Appeals to “enter an order indicating that it lost jurisdiction and finding that … the Pardon which was issued on Dec. 5, 2025, was effective and vitiated the convictions against Tina Peters in the State of Colorado.”

The motion, signed by Peters attorneys Peter Ticktin and John Case, is littered with debunked claims casting doubt on the legitimacy of what it calls the “most controversial Presidential Election in history.” Peters, a prominent election denier, was convicted by a Mesa County jury on multiple felony counts in connection with the breach of her office’s secure elections equipment during a 2021 software update.

Claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent or compromised have been debunked by elections officials, experts, media investigations, law enforcement, the courts and Trump’s own campaign and administration officials.

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Trump himself has repeatedly called on Governor Jared Polis to “free” Peters, and has threatened “harsh measures” if she isn’t released. Democrats characterized the Trump administration’s move last week to dismantle Boulder’s National Center for Atmospheric Research as retaliation for Peters’ ongoing incarceration.

A White House official appeared to acknowledge a retaliatory motive for that announcement in comments to The New York Times, which reported that the unnamed official said “Colorado constituents would be better served if Governor Polis wanted to work with the president.” Days later, the administration denied two disaster declaration requests that would have opened up federal funding to support wildfire and flood recovery in the state.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has said Trump’s attempt to pardon Peters of state crimes violates “one of the most basic principles of our constitution.” Case said earlier this month that he had visited La Vista Correctional Facility following the pardon to seek Peters’ release, but was told by a Colorado Department of Corrections official that the pardon does not affect her state conviction. The appeals court filing includes a copy of a Dec. 17 email to Case from a state attorney representing the CDOC, who reiterated that stance.

“The President does not have the authority to pardon an individual convicted of state crimes under state law, such as Ms. Peters,” wrote Nicole Gellar of the attorney general’s office. “Accordingly, the CDOC has a duty to continue to incarcerate her for the duration of her state sentence.”