Gov. Jared Polis ignited a political firestorm Tuesday night after weighing in on the prison sentences of two former Colorado officials convicted of attempting to influence a public servant.

The comments quickly fueled speculation about possible clemency for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and drew sharp pushback from fellow Democrats.

Polis made the comments on his personal X page rather than his gubernatorial account.

In the X post, Polis said, “Last week, former State Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis was sentenced to probation and community service after being convicted of four felonies, including Attempt to Influence a Public Official. She made a horrible mistake, and she was wrong. I hope she learns from this and can rebuild her life. As someone who has known Sonya as a friend for many years, on a personal level I was glad to hear she isn’t going to prison which is a hard place for anyone, no less a retired 68-year old pharmacist.

He added, “But it is not lost on me that she was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters — attempting to influence a public official — and yet Tina Peters, as a non-violent first time offender got a nine year sentence. Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law. This is the context I am using as I consider cases like this that have sentencing disparities, which is why I have extended the deadline for clemency applications until April 3rd. I will be making decisions on these cases throughout the remainder of my governorship.”

Polis’ post, as of Wednesday morning, had more than 1.3 million views and thousands of comments, including from former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who incorrectly stated on Bluesky that Polis had pardoned Peters.

As of Wednesday morning, Kinzinger had not corrected nor deleted his post.

On Bluesky, readers expressed disgust with Polis for even considering clemency, pointing out that Peters showed no remorse for the actions that earned her a nine-year prison sentence last year.

Peters was convicted in 2024. Peters was found guilty on Aug. 12 on seven out of 10 charges, including four felonies — three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. She was also convicted on three misdemeanors — first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with an order from the Secretary of State.

The charges are all tied to a security breach for election equipment at the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s office in May 2021. 

Peters tampered with Mesa County election equipment, allowing unauthorized access to a “trusted build” update of her county’s election software. Videos and images from the update were later posted online and shared at a cybersecurity conference Peters attended, hosted by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Peters, although he does not have the authority to pardon a person convicted on state charges. He has since targeted Colorado, in part for failing to release Peters, vetoing a bill that would have helped local water providers pay for their share of the Arkansas Valley conduit water project, canceling millions of dollars in grants in child care and energy, and calling for the dismantling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.

He has also demanded that Colorado end its mail-in balloting system.

Elected officials reacted Wednesday to the governor’s statement.

Attorney General Phil Weiser has long opposed clemency for Peters, and reiterated that position Wednesday.

“Reducing the sentence of convicted former clerk Tina Peters for tampering with election equipment would be a grave miscarriage of justice and dangerous for free and fair elections,” Weiser said.

He added that clemency should be based on remorse, which Peters has not demonstrated, instead doubling down on the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

Weiser said he had no doubt that, if released early, Peters would return to a campaign of deception and conspiracy theories.

Commuting the sentence would send the wrong message to those who attempt to tamper with Colorado elections, Weiser said.

Democratic leaders in the state Senate also took a dim view of any effort to pardon or commute Peters’ sentence Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, told reporters Wednesday that he questioned Polis’ approach. “I don’t know that I can equate the crimes as the same crime…I don’t think either one should get (clemency),” noting that for Jaquez Lewis it was too soon and that Peters has shown no remorse for her actions.

Would a legislative response be forthcoming in case the governor pardoned Peters? Rodriguez said that would be up to the caucus. A bill would have to be signed by the governor, whereas a resolution wouldn’t require the governor’s signature.

“It’s a personal decision for him. I wouldn’t do it for either,” Rodriguez said.

“It’s more complicated than what I saw on Twitter,” he added.

Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver, said in their conversations with the governor, they’ve talked about Peters. The governor has no responsibility to tell them what he’s doing, and they would meet with him again on Wednesday and bring it up.

That said, the tweet was a surprise, Coleman said. He added that he did not believe Peters’ sentence was unfair.

Legislative action could be brought to the members, who would then make their own decisions, he said. Whatever the governor does shouldn’t affect what lawmakers do this session. “We only have until May 13 to figure it out.”