Tina Peters draws crowd at Castle Rock freedom festival speech

A packed crowd at the Douglas County Fairgrounds gave Tina Peters a standing ovation, turning Castle Rock into a stage for Colorado’s election-security fight just 25 days after she left prison. The former Mesa County clerk used Rocky Mountain Voice’s Freedom Fest to defend her conduct, thank supporters and keep her name in the center of the state’s most polarizing election case.

Peters was released from La Vista Correctional Facility on June 1 after Gov. Jared Polis commuted the nine-year sentence she received on Oct. 3, 2024. A Mesa County jury had found her guilty on Aug. 12, 2024, of four felonies and three misdemeanors, including attempts to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with secretary of state requirements. The case stemmed from unauthorized access to voting equipment, and state officials said the breach forced Mesa County to replace equipment at a cost of nearly $1 million.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said the commutation would “validate and embolden” the election denial movement. Her office also said state officials decertified Mesa County’s voting equipment, removed Peters from election oversight and appointed a former Republican secretary of state to oversee elections there after the breach. The fallout has kept Peters tied to one of Colorado’s most consequential election-security disputes long after her conviction.

At the fairgrounds, Peters insisted she had acted properly and rejected the allegations against her. She told the crowd that supporters had helped her financially and emotionally through her legal fight, and she revisited her time in prison, including a small anecdote about a tomato, as she tried to cast herself as both a victim and a symbol for activists who believe the election system is rigged against them. Peters also warned supporters that what happened to her could happen to them too if they did not “stand up and fight back.”

Freedom Fest was billed as a two-day event in Castle Rock celebrating America’s 250th and Colorado’s 150th anniversaries. Peters was one speaker in a larger lineup that included Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Mike Davis, underscoring that the Douglas County event was built as a broad conservative gathering, not a single-candidate appearance. For Castle Rock and the county fairgrounds, Peters’ return showed how local venues are being used to carry statewide election politics into public view.