Colorado doesn’t plan to transfer imprisoned former county clerk to federal custody

By COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER AP Colorado doesn t plan to transfer from state prison to federal custody a former county clerk who has become a hero to electoral contest conspiracy theorists following a request from the Trump administration state agents reported Wednesday Related Articles Court transcripts show Confines Patrol official Greg Bovino dodging questions about use of force Judges allow North Carolina to use a map drawn in bid to give Republicans another US House seat FACT FOCUS It is not illegal for voters to show ID in New York and California Trump administration s effort to end s school desegregation cases faces a hurdle Russia s frozen assets at center of negotiations over Ukraine peace deal The Colorado Department of Corrections revealed it is not seeking a transfer of Tina Peters who was convicted last year of orchestrating a scheme in Mesa County to breach voting machine statistics driven by false suggests of fraud in the electoral contest Transferring an individual is an action initiated by the Colorado Department of Corrections not an outside entity department spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia declared in an email The Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment Peters is serving a nine-year sentence at a state prison in Pueblo The Bureau of Prisons requested on Nov that the state corrections department transfer her to federal custody to serve her sentence The reason isn t known A copy of the request disclosed by the state corrections department was heavily redacted The department revealed releasing that information was contrary to the general interest Peters release has become a cause celebre in the balloting conspiracy movement On Sunday President Donald Trump renewed his call for her to be set free One of Peters lawyers Peter Ticktin suggested on Trump ally Steve Bannon s podcast this week that the military be used to free Peters from prison County clerks in Colorado of various political affiliations blame Peters for making their jobs more dangerous by fueling distrust in the voting system They have been urging Gov Jared Polis a Democrat to definitively reject the federal transfer request In a report Tuesday a Polis spokesperson praised the integrity of the state s electoral contest system and disclosed the governor welcomes a chance to meet with the clerks about the federal transfer request but did not directly address it Governor Polis takes his responsibilities seriously and has been clear that he will take threats from the federal ruling body head-on especially when they undermine our democracy which is why we have vigorously defended Colorado s values during this turbulent time Polis spokesperson Shelby Wieman announced Matt Crane executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association mentioned the state corrections department is ultimately under Polis control and will do what he directs it to The open-ended announcement from the Department of Corrections does not alleviate our concerns he reported