President Donald Trump claimed Thursday to have pardoned former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, but for now, the declaration seems only to exist on social media. Trump posted this message, awash in random capitalizations and trumpeting the discredited argument that the 2020 election was unfair, at 4:49 p.m.:

A judge has denied Tina Peters' request to be released from prison on bond while her appeal is considered.

A federal magistrate judge on Monday rejected a bid by a former county clerk to be released from Colorado prison while she appeals her October 2024 conviction for charges related to allowing unauthorized access to voting machines in 2022.

“Because Ms. Peters’ appeal remains pending in state court, where she argues that the trial court violated her First Amendment rights by punishing her based upon her speech, any First Amendment error can be corrected through the state appeal,” Varholak said.