The Arizona House of Representatives will not investigate whether Rep. John Gillette violated ethics rules when he made Islamophobic comments on social media.
House Democrats filed an ethics complaint against Gillette, a Kingman Republican, earlier this month over posts they say showed bigotry against an entire religious group by dehumanizing Muslims.
That came after the Arizona Mirror reported Gillette made a series of profanity-laced posts calling Muslims “savages.” He also accused Muslim immigrants of failing to assimilate into American society and attempting to undermine the U.S. by advocating for Sharia Law.
Democrats argued those comments could have dangerous impacts on Arizona residents and undermine public confidence in the Legislature.
“He should be called before the Ethics Committee to answer these questions and explain to the public what his words intended and to take responsibility for the pain he has caused the community, and the potential danger in which he placed our Muslim constituents, with such hateful and inciteful words,” according to the complaint.
Rep. Lupe Diaz (R-Benson), who chairs the House Ethics Committee, said he will not take any action on the complaint.
In a letter to House Democrats, Diaz said lawmakers’ statements and opinions are not typically subject to review by the ethics committee.
“Subject to our House Rules regarding debate, members — like any other citizen — have a First Amendment right to freedom of speech, as well as a right to freely speak under Article 2, Section 6 of the Arizona Constitution,” Diaz wrote. “Moreover, particularly in the light of recent events, it is imperative that government institutions protect the freedom of speech, rather than take actions to silence, punish or censor speech simply because someone might find it offensive or disagreeable.”
In his own letter posted to social media, Gillette wrote that he “will treat every human being with dignity and respect” but mostly doubled down on his comments, accusing most Muslims of advocating for “terrorism, mass murder and political conquest.”
He said he was exercising his First Amendment rights to defend the U.S. Constitution.
The decision comes weeks after Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Analise Ortiz (D-Phoenix) after she reposted information about the location of immigration agents to social media.
Ortiz and her defenders have argued those posts are also covered by free speech protections.
Sen. Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix), who chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, referred the allegations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and took no action but said the committee could take additional steps at a later date.
