State Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) filed an ethics complaint against a Democratic lawmaker who reposted information about ICE activity near a Phoenix school on Instagram in August.
Some Republicans accused Sen. Analise Ortiz (D-Phoenix) of doxing federal agents and undermining law enforcement.
And Hoffman claims the post was reckless enough to warrant a vote to expel her from office.
Ortiz says the complaint is in line with broader efforts by the Trump administration to terrify and silence the public from exercising their first amendment rights.
“These targeted attacks come from their desire to create a white supremacist nation. It is why they are completely disregarding the Constitution,” Ortiz said.
It takes a two-thirds majority vote to oust a lawmaker from the narrowly-divided state Senate, making expulsion unlikely.
Short of that, Hoffman recommends Republicans strip Ortiz of committee assignments, take away her office and staff and otherwise impede her access to the chamber.
Ortiz said she doesn’t believe there is any recourse for her if Republicans proceed with those punishments. She vowed to continue showing up at the Capitol, but added that the voters in her district who elected her would be effectively disenfranchised. She said it would be a scary precedent for Republican lawmakers to set.
As for the Instagram post, Ortiz likened it to speed trap warnings shared on map apps, or neighbors sharing police activity on websites like Nextdoor.
“I am going to continue to share information that is protected by the first amendment,” Ortiz said. “The alarming thing here is that they want police operations to happen by masked men in secret, and they want Arizonans terrified to talk about what we are witnessing happening.”
Hoffman did not respond to a request for comment, but said in a statement that Ortiz’s post endangered lives.
"Senator Ortiz's behavior crosses every line of ethics, professionalism, and basic decency,” Hoffman said. “When an elected official openly undermines law enforcement, puts lives at risk, and erodes the rule of law, there must be accountability. The people of Arizona expect and deserve better."
The ethics complaint was also signed by other prominent Republicans, including Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert).
Senate Ethics Committee Chair Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix) announced Wednesday that she referred Ortiz to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for an investigation into the allegations of interfering with “federal immigration enforcement operations.”
"I take this complaint very seriously. Doxing federal ICE agents is not only reckless, it endangers lives and undermines the rule of law," Bolick said in a statement.
She added that the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s review of the situation will “inform the committee’s next steps.”
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to clarify that state Sen. Analise Ortiz is a Democrat representing Phoenix.
