Then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters at her primary election watch party at the Wide Open Saloon in Sedalia on June 28, 2022.

The Colorado attorney general’s office has asked for the dismissal of the habeas corpus petition filed by former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, arguing that the federal court does not have jurisdiction in the case.

Peters is serving a nine-year prison sentence for her role in a breach of Mesa County’s elections systems during a 2021 software update. She was convicted by a jury in August 2024 on four felony counts related to the security breach, which was part of an effort to demonstrate that the 2020 election was untrustworthy, even though there is no credible evidence to support that position.

Peters has appealed the conviction, and while the Colorado Court of Appeals reviews her appeal, her legal team filed a federal habeas corpus petition. The petition, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado, argues that Peters should be released on bond pending the appeal decision.

The filing by the attorney general’s office cites the 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case Younger v. Harris, in which the court recognized “longstanding public policy against federal court interference with state court proceedings.”

According to the filing, if three conditions in the case are met, then the federal court “must abstain from exercising jurisdiction regarding state proceedings.” Those conditions are that the state proceedings are ongoing; the state proceedings implicate important state interests; and the state proceedings afford an adequate opportunity to present the federal constitutional challenges.

The filing argues that those conditions are met, because Peters’ state-level appeal is ongoing, her conviction is criminal, thus an important state interest, and her appeal allows her to present her constitutional challenge. Based on the precedent set in the Younger case, the filing says the federal court does not have jurisdiction in Peters’ habeas corpus petition.

Peters’ attorneys argue in the federal habeas corpus petition that her First Amendment rights have been violated because she has not been allowed bail pending her appeal. Her attorney, Peter Ticktin, cited a statement made by the Mesa County District Court judge when denying her bond. The judge said, “So the damage that is caused and continue to be caused is just as bad, if not worse, than the physical violence that this court sees on an all too regular basis. And it’s particularly damaging when those words come from someone who holds a position of influence like you.”

“(Peters) has been made to stay in prison because people are afraid of what she would say,” Ticktin said in an interview with Newsline.

The filing by the attorney general’s office, however, says, “The court pointed to her deceptive conduct as evidence of Ms. Peters’ belief that she was above the law and noted the impact it had on her reputation and the community. The court also discussed Ms. Peters’ allegations of election fraud in the context of her criminal conduct, explaining that she used her position to commit crimes for the purpose of promoting allegations of election fraud, which benefitted her personally.”

Ticktin has called Peters a “political prisoner.”

Peters was convicted by a Mesa County jury, and prosecuted by the office of a Republican district attorney. There has been no credible claim that the trial was politically compromised.

Peters’ case has garnered national attention and President Donald Trump has called for the U.S. Department of Justice to take “all necessary action” to secure her release. Trump cannot pardon Peters, because her conviction involves state crimes.

Peters’ attorneys have approximately two weeks to file a brief in response to the argument by the attorney general’s office that the federal court does not have jurisdiction in the habeas corpus case.

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Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.