Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ press secretary Josselyn Berry resigned Tuesday evening after outrage over a now-deleted tweet threatening to use violence against those who disagree with promoting transgenderism. Coming less than 12 hours after a transgender fatally shot students and staff at a Christian elementary school she used to attend in Tennessee, the Arizona Freedom Caucus led the call for her to resign.
Berry, who has a history of partisan offensive tweets, tweeted, “Us when we see transphobes,” captioning a photo of a woman with a determined look pointing two guns. The photo is from the movie “Gloria,” featuring the late actress Gena Rowlands. In the 1980 movie, the character Gloria shoots and kills gangsters.
Hobbs’ office released this statement on Wednesday, “The Governor does not condone violence in any form. This administration holds mutual respect at the forefront of how we engage with one another. The post by the Press Secretary is not reflective of the values of the administration. The Governor has received and accepted the resignation of the Press Secretary.”
The Arizona Freedom Caucus, which is composed of conservatives in the Arizona Legislature, tweeted, “Less than 12 hours after the tragic shooting in Nashville by a deranged transgender activist @katiehobbs’ Press Secretary calls for shooting people Democrats disagree with. Calling for violence like this is un-American & never acceptable. @joss_berry should be fired immediately.”
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times