Tina Peters Releases From Pueblo Prison Amidst Heat and Vigil

The wind cuts off the eastern plains of Pueblo, whipping dust against the chain-link fence of La Vista Correctional Facility. It is hot. Dry. The kind of heat that makes the asphalt shimmer and the air feel heavy with anticipation.

For three days, a small group has stood there. They aren’t camping. They aren’t protesting the prison itself. They are waiting for Tina Peters.

The former Mesa County Clerk is set to walk out of these gates on Monday, June 1. Governor Jared Polis granted her clemency earlier this month, slashing a nine-year sentence down to time served. The official reason? Peters is a first-time, nonviolent offender whose punishment was too harsh.

The reality on the ground tells a different story.

Supporters have been holding vigil since Friday evening. They claim they want Peters to know she has backing. They say she stood for election integrity. They say she did her job.

But look closer at who is standing in the heat.

Micki Witthoeft is here. She is the mother of Ashli Babbitt, the Marine killed during the January 6 Capitol riot. Witthoeft argues Peters was just doing her job, regardless of whether you buy the election integrity narrative.

Nicole Reffitt says Peters sees them. She says every time Peters looks out, she sees love.

Ben Pollock is here too. He ties the vigil to Memorial Day. He points out Peters is a Gold Star mom. Her son, Special Operator 1st Class Remington Peters, died in a parachuting accident in May 2017. Pollock says the loss is why they are here. To show support. To honor the sacrifice.

Then there is Jorge Riley. He was pardoned by President Donald Trump. He says Peters stood for them while they were locked up. He came out in solidarity.

This isn’t just a local event. It is a national symbol being defended in Pueblo.

But the people who put Peters in prison aren’t buying the sentiment.

Daniel Rubinstein, the District Attorney for the 21st Judicial District, prosecuted the case. He watched Peters go from county clerk to federal prisoner. He is disappointed.

"The optics of this are terrible," Rubinstein said on May 15.

He didn’t mince words. He pointed to the demographics. An upper-middle-class white woman with powerful friends got her sentence changed. The other 19,000 people in the Colorado Department of Corrections? Their sentences aren’t getting the same scrutiny.

"It’s going to have an effect on people’s confidence in the criminal justice system," Rubinstein said.

He warned of a ripple effect. This decision doesn’t just affect Peters. It affects how the rest of the state views justice. It affects how the rest of the country views Colorado.

The vigil ends Monday. Peters walks free.

FOX21 plans to cover the release. They will be on the ground. They will be watching.

The question isn’t whether Peters will leave. It’s whether the people who stayed behind believe the system just gave her a break, or if they believe it just broke them.

Read that again.

The supporters say they were there before they knew about the release. They were there for the son’s death anniversary. They were there for the country.

The DA says it’s about privilege. It’s about optics. It’s about the 19,000 others who didn’t get the memo.

Pueblo is waiting. The fence is still there. The sun is still rising.