Colorado officials on Wednesday rebuffed President Donald Trump’s call to release former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from state prison, where she’s serving a nine-year sentence stemming from her role in a scheme to breach secure voting equipment.

Referring to Peters as “an innocent Political Prisoner” and a “hostage,” Trump said late Monday in a post on Truth Social that he was directing the U.S. Department of Justice to “take all necessary action to help secure” Peters’ release, adding, “FREE TINA PETERS NOW!”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Secretary of State Jena Griswold, both Democrats, said in separate statements to Colorado Politics that Trump had it wrong, describing Peters as a properly convicted criminal.

Peters was found guilty by a Mesa County jury last summer on seven state charges, including four felonies, for tampering with her county’s election equipment. Her convictions included counts involving permitting a man associated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to access voting system software and then lying about it. Lindell has been a leading promotor of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

Trump’s social media post on Peters led with an attack on Weiser, accusing the attorney general of being “Radical Left” and alleging that Weiser has ignored violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants while instead having “jailed” Peters.

“This is a Communist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their Election crimes and misdeeds in 2020,” Trump wrote.

Weiser’s office jointly prosecuted Peters with Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, a Republican.

“Tina Peters is in prison because of her own actions,” Weiser told Colorado Politics in response to Trump’s post. “A grand jury indicted her, and a trial jury found her guilty of breaking Colorado’s criminal laws. No one is above the law.”

Added Weiser: The Colorado Attorney General’s Office will continue to defend this criminal conviction in post-conviction proceedings and on appeal. We are firm in pursuing justice for the people of the state of Colorado, protecting free and fair elections, and standing up for the rule of law.”

Accusing Trump of “weaponizing the Department of Justice,” Griswold rejected the president’s depiction of Peters.

“Tina Peters is a criminal who compromised her own voting equipment to try to prove Trump’s Big Lie,” Griswold told Colorado Politics. “We cannot allow him to rewrite history or use his lies to create two tiers of justice for the American people.”

In March, the federal Justice Department tried to insert itself into Peters’ case, claiming it was reviewing whether her prosecution was “oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.”

Weiser’s office responded that the Justice Department had no business getting involved in the case surrounding Peters’ appeal and characterized the attempt as an act of intimidation designed to help a Trump ally.