Key Points: Rep. Lauren Boebert remains a controversial figure, recently calling for the release of Tina Peters, a former Colorado election clerk convicted on state charges related to 2020 election conspiracies; President Trump subsequently directed the DOJ to seek Peters’ release.
-Boebert also garnered attention by suggesting renaming the District of Columbia to the “District of America” during a hearing.
-Other recent incidents include blaming Biden-era “DEI hires” for air traffic control problems, confusing filmmaker Oliver Stone with Roger Stone, facing a failed censure attempt over comments about a colleague’s cane, and drawing criticism for her attire at a fundraiser.
Lauren Boebert Is a Headline Machine
Tina Peters of Colorado, an election clerk and far-right conspiracy theorist, was accused of breaking into election equipment in furtherance of conspiracy theories and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In 2024, per Colorado Newsline, Peters was convicted of several charges — three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one misdemeanor count of official misconduct, one misdemeanor count of violation of duty in elections, and one misdemeanor count of failure to comply with the secretary of state — and sentenced to nine years in prison. This made Peters the first election clerk to be convicted of crimes involving efforts to overturn that election.
In March, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) wrote a letter calling for Peters to be freed. And on Tuesday, President Trump ordered the Department of Justice to “secure the release” of Peters. However, Peters was convicted in state court, so it’s not clear how the DoJ would have the power to free her. Peters’ case was not part of the January 6 prosecutions, so she was not included in those pardons.
Boebert, in late 2021, had sounded something of a different tune about Peters. After expressing concerns about the case, she stated that she had spoken with the district attorney on the case and that “it was clear from our conversation that the District Attorney is being responsible in his approach and conducting his work in as timely and professional a manner as possible, as well as providing local oversight of the FBI’s role.”
Lauren Boebert Wants the “District of America”
Calling for the release of a convicted criminal and election conspiracy monger is the latest strange event with which Boebert has been associated during her current term, which began when she switched Colorado districts to run for another term.
The District of Columbia has had that name since 1801. It dates back to the agreement, reached in 1790, to build a new national capital on the Potomac. That story was told in the popular musical “Hamilton,” in the second act number “The Room Where It Happens.”
Boebert, herself well-known for her proclivities in a musical theater setting, called in March to change the name.
Per Newsweek, Boebert was speaking in a House hearing in March, when she suggested that the District of Columbia should be changed to the “District of America.”
“I would caution my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to refrain from making jokes about the Gulf of America because next up may be the District of America that we are working on,” Boebert said during a hearing for the House Natural Resources Committee.
It’s not clear how serious Boebert was about the idea, and she doesn’t appear to have raised it again. And while Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico “The Gulf of America,” that at least represented an American show of force over an international body of water. The District of Columbia is already America’s capital district, and doesn’t need a name change.
Other Boebert Developments
The Colorado Congresswoman has been busy otherwise, with her trademark bizarre public behavior.
This week, she blamed the departed Biden Administration, including “DEI hires,” for ongoing issues with the air traffic control system, including the recent blackout at Newark Airport.
In April, she introduced a bill to strip gray wolves of endangered species protections. The bill has cleared the House Natural Resources Committee. Also that month, during a hearing about the JFK Assassination, she confused filmmaker Oliver Stone, who was testifying before the hearing, with sometime Trump adviser Roger Stone, who authored a book that accused Lyndon Johnson of being involved in the Kennedy Assassination.
When Boebert referred, in March, to Rep. Al Green (D-TX) using a “pimp cane,” one House Democrat introduced a measure to censure Boebert, although it did not pass. That same month, she was rumored to be dating Kid Rock.
Also in April, Boebert was accused of wearing an “inappropriate” minidress to a fundraising dinner for the president. The fashion site The List criticised the dress as “overcomplicated.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
