Colorado Democrats formally censured Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday after he commuted the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a prominent election denier convicted in a voting system breach case.

The Colorado Democratic Party State Central Committee voted Wednesday to censure Polis, a fellow Democrat, after he issued a controversial commutation for Peters, who was convicted in connection with a 2021 voting equipment breach case.

«Reducing her sentence now, under pressure from Donald Trump, is not justice,» the party said in a statement. «It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you’re friends with the president.»

«That’s a dangerous and disappointing precedent to set,» the statement added.

COLORADO GOVERNOR COMMUTES TINA PETERS’ SENTENCE AS TRUMP POSTS ‘FREE TINA!’

The party accused Polis of having «materially harmed» the state party’s credibility and barred him from participating in official Democratic Party-sponsored events moving forward.

It also said the clemency decision «does not reflect the values, institutional positions, or democratic commitments of the Colorado Democratic Party.»

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Polis defended the governor’s decision in a statement to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR RELEASE OF TINA PETERS AS COLORADO GOVERNOR WEIGHS CLEMENCY

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks to members of the media in the spin room following the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York on Oct. 1, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«The Governor made this decision based on the facts of the case and what he believed was the right thing to do,» the spokesperson said. «Sometimes the right thing isn’t the popular thing with everybody. Democracy is strongest when disagreement is met with debate and dialogue, not censorship.» 

The reprimand came after Polis announced clemency for 44 individuals last Friday, including 35 pardons and nine commutations.

Peters was among those granted a commutation, reducing her prison sentence and making her eligible for parole beginning June 1, 2026.

APPEALS JUDGE SEEMS SKEPTICAL OF SENTENCE FOR PRO-TRUMP COLORADO CLERK TINA PETERS

Attorneys for former Colorado election official Tina Peters filed a motion seeking her release from prison and urged the appellate court to recognize a pardon issued by President Donald Trump. The motion argues that Trump’s pardon applies to Peters’ state convictions, a claim disputed by Colorado officials as the court considers its jurisdiction. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

Peters became a nationally known figure among 2020 election skeptics following the Mesa County voting equipment breach controversy and subsequent criminal prosecution.

President Donald Trump quickly weighed in on the commutation, posting on Truth Social: «FREE TINA!»

According to the executive order signed Friday, Peters’ sentence was reduced from eight years and three months to four years and four-and-a-half months.

The order also stated the clemency action «shall not in any way affect the underlying criminal conviction.»

Peters was convicted in 2024 of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, along with conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with secretary of state requirements.

In a statement announcing the clemencies, Polis said, «the Clemency power is a serious responsibility, and not one that I take lightly.»

«This power has the ability to change lives — help grant a second chance for someone who has made grave mistakes — and it comes with great consideration, and sometimes even controversy,» he added.

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The move was immediately condemned by Democrats, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who accused Polis of legitimizing «the election denial movement.»

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump split with immigration hawks by defending Chinese students in the U.S. while also softening on Chinese-owned farmland — creating friction inside MAGA and unexpected overlap with moderate Democrats.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Trump in a recent interview from Beijing about concerns surrounding Chinese nationals attending school in the U.S. and China-linked entities purchasing farmland, including in sensitive areas like near a North Dakota military base that raised eyebrows earlier this decade.

Republicans have long warned that Chinese student visa programs could expose U.S. research and state secrets to the Chinese Communist Party, while GOP officials like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer have pushed for tougher restrictions on Chinese ownership of American farmland.

«It’s not that I love it. You want to see farm prices drop; you want to see farmers lose a lot of money just take that out of the market. But they’ve had a lot of land for a long time. Obama did nothing about it,» Trump said.

SENATORS RICKETTS, FETTERMAN UNITE AGAINST CHINA’S QUIET INVASION OF US FARMLAND

Trump also defended allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S., calling them «good students» and arguing that banning them would unnecessarily inflame tensions with Beijing.

«I frankly think that it’s good that people come from other countries and they learn our culture and many of them want to stay here,» Trump said, while admitting that it «doesn’t sound like a very conservative position – and I’m a conservative… commonsense guy. I think MAGA is ‘common sense,’» he said.

The comments triggered backlash from the right wing of the MAGA movement, with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene disputing, «No — that’s not commonsense.»

«Trump says it’s insulting to tell China their students can’t go to our universities, imagine being an American student and receiving a rejection letter while 500,000 Chinese students get in,» Greene said, according to the left-wing New Republic. «And no – it’s not OK for China to buy our farmland.»

Some Democrats, however, appeared heartened by Trump’s more moderate stance on a major sticking point in the immigration field.

Fox News Digital reached out to top Democrats on the moderate New Democrat Coalition’s Border Security Working Group.

Chairman Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico told Fox News Digital that while he disagrees with Trump «on a lot» regarding immigration enforcement, he will continue to support efforts to bring new blood into the American economy.

«I have long supported building America’s workforce by encouraging the best and brightest across the world to come study in the U.S. and build their careers and families here,» said Vasquez.

«Congress should expand more legal pathways for students to stay here and start businesses, grow the American economy, and help our country fill critical needs in key industries like healthcare, manufacturing, quantum AI and engineering.» 

A Vasquez spokesperson added that the lawmaker, however, agrees with conservatives on one point where Trump differed — that Chinese nationals should not be permitted to purchase U.S. farmland.

«Food security is national security,» the spokesperson said.

Speaking to Hannity, Trump added: «I could tell [Xi], I don’t want any students, it’s a very insulting thing to say to a country. They would then immediately go out and start building universities all over China.»

Trump argued that without the influx of Chinese students, middling and lower-tier universities would begin dying on the vine financially.

Lora Ries, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee and a 30-year policy expert now with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that universities have grown too dependent on foreign students because they often pay «full freight» — and made the case for scrutinizing the education system rather than keeping it propped up with foreign tuition.

TRUMP CLAIMS GOP ‘VERY OPEN’ TO KEEPING ‘DREAMERS’ IN US, TAKES SHOT AT ‘VERY DIFFICULT’ DEMS

«It is no longer a level playing field for American students to get into these universities. We also know many of these universities are producing degrees that don’t have a great return on investment: gender studies, et cetera. So why on earth do we want to keep universities that depend on those sorts of degrees afloat?» Ries said.

«We shouldn’t justify continuing to bring in high levels of foreign students to keep so many universities in business when the Big-Ed model is absolutely upside-down.»

According to Ries, Chinese and other foreign student blocs exacerbate the difficulty American students face getting into colleges — while native students are also not finding meaningful jobs after graduation.

Ries said the issue is «right up Trump’s alley,» but not in the way the president posited on «Hannity.» She said Trump could shake up «Big-Ed» by incentivizing quality degrees and disincentivizing ones that leave American graduates occupationally stranded.

FOREIGN STUDENTS WHO HATE AMERICA DON’T DESERVE VISAS — AND WE HAVE TOOLS TO STOP THEM

When it comes to the adage about jobs Americans supposedly won’t do, she pointed to the medical field, which has seen an influx of foreign students.

«You can’t say medicine is a job that Americans won’t do, so what’s going on?» she said.

She also noted that Chinese nationals cannot come to live in America without the knowledge of — and often information-sharing with — the CCP, which itself poses a risk.

«Also, Chairman Xi can say, ‘Well, America is in decline,’ as he just did in this summit.»

When asked for comment, a White House spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to the president’s remarks to Hannity.

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Trump’s comments set up a new potential divergence between presidential policy and conservative politics among some of his current and former most ardent supporters, including Greene.

It also, however, potentially opens up a rare immigration dialogue with Democrats like Vasquez and his coalition of moderates, who have been trying to advance their own fixes to the broken system.

Miles de personas participaron este miércoles por la tarde en la Marcha del Silencio en Montevideo para reclamar memoria, verdad y justicia por los uruguayos desaparecidos durante la última dictadura militar. La movilización, que se realiza desde 1996, recorrió la principal avenida de la capital de Uruguay con las fotos de las 205 víctimas de desaparición forzada.

La marcha fue a paso lento y en completo silencio, sin banderas políticas y bajo la consigna «30 años marchando. Contra la impunidad de ayer y de hoy. Exigimos respuestas ¿Dónde están?». Según un comunicado oficial de la Presidencia de Uruguay, inició en la intersección de las calles Jackson y Rivera, donde se encuentra el Memorial a los Detenidos Desaparecidos en América Latina, y se trasladó hasta la plaza Libertad en medio de un silencio que únicamente se rompió en dos ocasiones: cuando se mencionó el nombre de las víctimas y cuando se cantó el Himno Nacional Uruguayo.

La convocatoria llega en el marco del 50 aniversario de la muerte de los legisladores Zelmar Michelini y Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, asesinados en 1976 en Buenos Aires junto a los militantes de izquierda Rosario del Carmen Barredo y William Whitelaw Blanco.

Hasta hace poco, el número oficial de desaparecidos en Uruguay era de 197 personas. Sin embargo, la semana pasada el equipo de investigación de la Institución Nacional de Derechos Humanos (INDDHH) incluyó ocho nuevos casos en la lista que elevaron la cuenta hasta 205. Según se indicó, tres de esas personas se consideran casos activos de búsqueda y otras cinco eran casos ya aclarados, pero no formaban parte de la nómina. mientras tanto, queda 81 denuncias que aún son estudiadas.

Durante la manifestación de este miércoles, además de los rostros de los familiares de las víctimas, también se pudieron ver miles jóvenes que los acompañaron por las calles de la capital uruguaya. En ese sentido, Alba González Souza, integrante fundadora de la asociación Madres y Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Uruguay que aún sigue buscando a su hijo Rafael Lezama, aseguró que la marcha dejó de ser de las familias «para ser de una gran parte del pueblo uruguayo, que la abriga y la sostiene».

En la previa a la convocatoria, la asociación había brindado una conferencia de prensa en la que sostuvieron que en estos los treinta años de marchas, y cincuenta años de lucha, «la impunidad sigue presente».

«Los archivos siguen dispersos y muchos de ellos ocultos; sigue faltando información y la búsqueda sigue siendo a ciegas. Se hace necesaria una política integral de búsqueda de todo el Estado que implique a todos sus agentes; el compromiso debe ser total e inequívoco», apuntó la asociación.

Por su parte, el presidente uruguayo, Yamandú Orsi, compartió una publicación en su cuenta de X, en la que sostuvo: «A 50 años seguimos buscando más respuestas, porque no son sólo memoria. La vida se sigue abriendo, año tras año y en silencio, en un gigantesco abrazo». Junto a ella, agregó fotografías de la multitud.

A 50 años seguimos buscando más respuestas, porque no son sólo memoria. La vida se sigue abriendo, año tras año y en silencio, en un gigantesco abrazo. pic.twitter.com/8HGMCskkTI

— Yamandú Orsi (@OrsiYamandu) May 20, 2026

En tanto, la vicepresidenta de la República Oriental, Carolina Cosse, dijo presente en la marcha y durante una conferencia de prensa la definió como «una causa nacional de construcción de verdad, de memoria y de justicia».

«Es un llamado a los mejores valores de nuestro pueblo para construir nuestra propia historia» y a «no leerla en libros escritos por otros», afirmó además Cosse y sostuvo que la búsqueda de los desaparecidos debe acercar a los uruguayos, en la medida en que entiende que todos pueden colaborar con acciones tales como «hablar de este tema, no esconderlo y preguntar».

Además de la marcha en Montevideo, también fueron convocadas más de 70 movilizaciones en otras ciudades del mundo, incluidas concentraciones en Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Londres, Barcelona, Madrid, Santiago de Compostela, Mallorca, París y Estocolmo. Este jueves se realizará además un homenaje en Buenos Aires en un acto del que participarán el presidente uruguayo su vice.