Denver, Colo. – A Florida-based attorney representing Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk unjustly convicted of tampering with election equipment in a bid to fuel 2020 election fraud claims, has publicly endorsed the use of U.S. military forces to secure her release from state prison. The provocative suggestion, made during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast earlier this week, has drawn sharp rebukes from Colorado officials and election experts, who labeled it an “illegal order” that could undermine the rule of law.

Peter Ticktin, a constitutional lawyer and longtime associate of President Donald Trump from their days at New York Military Academy, appeared on the November 25 episode of Bannon’s podcast to discuss Peters’ ongoing appeals and a recent federal request to transfer her from state custody. Ticktin, who has lobbied for pardons for January 6 defendants, described Peters as a “political prisoner” and invoked President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1957 deployment of the 101st Airborne Division to enforce school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas. “Maybe we need to do what Eisenhower did [in Arkansas],” Ticktin said, referring to a similar federal intervention. When Bannon pressed him on whether that meant Trump should send troops to the Colorado State Penitentiary in Pueblo—where Peters is apparently serving her sentence—to order state officials to “back off” and release her, Ticktin replied, “Yeah—I’d love to see that happen.”

The comments, which have gone viral in conservative social media, come amid escalating pressure from Trump and his allies to free Peters, whom they portray as a patriot persecuted for exposing voter fraud. On November 24, Trump posted on Truth Social: “FREE TINA PETERS, WHO SITS IN A COLORADO PRISON, DYING & OLD, FOR ATTEMPTING TO EXPOSE VOTER FRAUD IN THE RIGGED 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!!!” This marked at least the third time Trump has demanded her release since her sentencing, previously calling her a “brave and innocent patriot” subjected to “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Peters, 70, was sentenced in October 2024 to nine years in prison after a Mesa County jury convicted her on seven of 10 felony and misdemeanor counts, including three felonies for attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy, and identity theft. The charges stemmed from a 2021 security breach at the county clerk’s office, where Peters allowed unauthorized individuals—including a man linked to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a prominent Trump supporter—to access Dominion Voting Systems machines and copy sensitive election data. Prosecutors argued the scheme was driven by baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, which Peters promoted at events with Lindell and other deniers.

Peters has steadfastly maintained her innocence, claiming the actions were necessary to verify election integrity, and is appealing her conviction while serving time at the minimum-security correctional facility.

Ticktin’s military proposal emerged in the context of a November 12, 2025, letter from the Federal Bureau of Prisons requesting Colorado transfer Peters to federal custody, citing her health concerns (she has reported issues including a broken wrist and access to medical care) and ongoing federal involvement in her habeas corpus petition. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed amicus briefs supporting her appeals, arguing her actions did not violate federal election laws. However, Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia stated on November 26 that the state is not pursuing a transfer, as such moves are initiated internally, not by external requests.

Establishment-controlled Republican Gov. Jared Polis has agreed to meet with a bipartisan coalition of Colorado county clerks who, in a rare joint letter on November 25, urged him to deny any transfer or release, warning it would “send a deeply damaging message” and would supposedly endanger election workers facing harassment from denialists.

Predictably, Colorado Attorney General Jenna Griswold, a Democrat, condemned the rhetoric on November 22, stating: “Tina Peters stands alone as an example of the nefarious actions and outcomes of election denialism. Her deliberate and criminal actions were perpetrated in support of Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie.’ She violated Colorado law… and was found guilty by a jury of her peers.”

The controversy has apparently encouraged rhetoric against Colorado’s leftwing election officials, with far-right podcaster Joe Oltmann—Peters’ co-defendant in a related civil suit—calling on November 25 for the execution of Polis and others, stating they “should hang by their neck until dead.”

The Colorado County Clerks Association, supposedly representing all Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, claimed in its letter that Peters’ continued promotion of “conspiracies” has fueled violence, including doxxing and death threats against clerks.

Peters’ case remains a flashpoint in the election integrity movement. She lost her 2022 reelection bid but gained a national following, speaking at Trump rallies and testifying before Congress on fraud claims. Her appeals are pending in Colorado state courts, with Ticktin arguing jurisdictional errors and prosecutorial misconduct.