Donald Trump launches new attacks on Colorado

President Donald Trump called for the release of Tina Peters, a former Colorado election official serving a nine-year sentence, in a social media post on Wednesday that also attacked Colorado's governor and a local district attorney.

"God Bless Tina Peters," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Hard to wish her a Happy New Year, but to the Scumbag Governor, and the disgusting 'Republican' (RINO!) DA, who did this to her…I wish them only the worst. May they rot in Hell. FREE TINA PETTERS!"

Trump's December 31 statement came one day after he vetoed a bipartisan federal bill backing a major water infrastructure project in southeastern Colorado, following his public promise to retaliate against Colorado and Democratic Governor Jared Polis over Peters' imprisonment.

Peters, 73, is serving her sentence at the La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo, Colorado, after being convicted in 2024 on multiple felony charges related to a security breach of Mesa County election equipment following the 2020 election. Prosecutors said she allowed an unauthorized person to access secure systems to support false claims that the election was stolen.

Despite his vocal support, Trump cannot legally pardon Peters, whose sentence was imposed under state law. "No president has jurisdiction over state law," Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold told NPR, adding that Peters' crimes were "against Colorado law and our democratic institutions," and that the state would not release her based on a federal pardon claim.

The controversy has intensified an ongoing feud between Trump and Colorado's leadership, capped Tuesday by his veto of a bipartisan bill funding the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a $1.3 billion federal water project meant to deliver clean drinking water to rural communities in southeastern Colorado.

Trump justified the move on fiscal grounds, calling the project "economically unviable" and arguing it would unfairly burden federal taxpayers. Some lawmakers, however, viewed the decision as retaliatory.

"This bipartisan and non-controversial bill passed unanimously by both the U.S. House and Senate," Governor Jared Polis said in a statement. "It's very disappointing that the President is hurting rural Colorado."

Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican and close Trump ally who sponsored the bill, also criticized the veto. "Nothing says 'America First' like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado," Boebert wrote on X, suggesting the move may have been tied to her recent criticisms of the administration.

Boebert said in a statement shared by Denver-based 9 News journalist Kyle Clark: "If this administration wants to make its legacy blocking projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that's on them. I'm going to continue fighting for Colorado and standing up for our rural communities, our farmers, and every family that deserves safe, reliable drinking water without decades more delay. And I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability. Americans deserve leadership that puts people over politics. This is NOT the last Southeast Colorado will hear from me on this critical infrastructure project."