WASHINGTON — Ahead of Tina Peters’ release from prison today, Mike Davis, founder and president of the Article III Project, filed a federal civil-rights criminal referral with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, urging a criminal investigation into Colorado government officials who illegally conspired to unconstitutionally punish the former Mesa County Clerk for her First Amendment-protected views on election integrity.

In March 2022, Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, supported vociferously by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, indicted Peters on charges related to alleged election interference. In October 2024, Mesa County District Judge Matthew D. Barrett sentenced the then-69-year-old woman to nearly nine years in prison for nonviolent offenses, a sentence longer than what many defendants receive in federal court for illegal voting. Peters has no prior criminal record, and her actions did not alter a single vote.

The Colorado Court of Appeals subsequently remanded the case for resentencing, citing grave concerns that Judge Barrett had improperly punished Peters for exercising First Amendment rights. Colorado Governor Jared Polis then commuted her sentence, citing those same concerns about free speech, and Peters will be released today, June 1. Yet Weiser, Rubinstein, and Griswold all publicly condemned the commutation. Griswold even penned an op-ed in the Denver Post arguing Peters should have served her full sentence.

A3P’s referral invokes 18 U.S.C. § 241 (conspiracy to violate rights) and 18 U.S.C. § 242 (deprivation of rights). Because judges and prosecutors are absolutely immune from civil liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, only a criminal investigation can provide the accountability Peters deserves and the rule of law demands.

“Colorado government officials illegally conspired to severely, unconstitutionally, and criminally punish Tina Peters because of her First Amendment-protected views on election integrity. The evidence is clear. No one is above the law. Not secretaries of state, not district attorneys, not attorneys general, and not judges. Tina Peters received a sentence so extreme and constitutionally infirm that even a Democrat-appointed appellate court vacated it, and a Democrat governor commuted it. Governor Polis himself expressed concern that Peters was punished for her exercise of free speech. That is extraordinary. That demands a federal criminal investigation,” wrote Davis.

“A3P calls on the DOJ to investigate Mesa County District Judge Matthew Barrett, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and any and all other potential coconspirators. Civil immunity does not shield judges and prosecutors from criminal liability for violating a defendant's constitutional rights. That is settled law. It is time for accountability.”

The Article III Project (A3P) was founded by veteran GOP operative and attorney Mike Davis, who, after helping win the Senate confirmation battles of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, developed the reputation as a “take-no-prisoners conservative eager to challenge the left with hardball tactics,” as reported in The New York Times.‍‍

‍‍A3P defends constitutionalist judges, punches back on radical assaults on judicial independence (like court-packing) and opposes judicial and other nominees who are outside of the mainstream. Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and led the Senate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit court judges.

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