Court overturns prison sentence of Colorado 2020 election denier Tina Peters

(MESA COUNTY, Colo.) -- A Colorado appeals court has overturned the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk who was convicted in a scheme to breach voting systems in search of evidence of election fraud in 2020.

In its decision on Thursday, the appeals court upheld Peters' conviction but ordered her case to be sent to a lower court for a judge to issue a new sentence.

The judges found that the district judge who sentenced Peters to nine years in 2024 violated her free-speech rights related to her allegations of election fraud.

"Here, the trial court's comments about Peters' belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond relevant considerations for her sentencing," the judges said Thursday. "Her offense was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud; it was her deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud."

The former Mesa County clerk was convicted for giving an individual affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump ally, access to the election software she used for her county.

In December, President Donald Trump announced a pardon for Peters, despite the president not having jurisdiction over state charges.

In a statement following the appeals court's order, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Peters "should not receive any special treatment as the District Court considers re-sentencing."

"Her actions have been repeatedly used to spread conspiracy theories, amplify falsehoods, and fuel dangerous election lies," Griswold said.

Peters' attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

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