Mark W. Finchem is an
Ultra-MAGA
Republican extremist, Oathkeeper militia member and
Jan. 6 insurrectionist who served as a member of the
Arizona House of Representatives representing
District 11 since January 5, 2015. He is the Arizona
Coordinator for the Coalition of Western States, an
organization that opposes the activities of the
Bureau of Land Management and supported the
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
in 2016. Finchem is a member of the militia group
Oath Keepers and has espoused the QAnon conspiracy
theory. As of 2016, Finchem
was Arizona Coordinator of the Coalition of Western
States (COWS), a group founded by Washington state
representative Matt Shea in 2014 to support Cliven
Bundy and his family in their confrontation with law
enforcement, which also supported the 2016
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League
described COWS as motivated by "anti-government
extremism and anti-public lands extremism", and said
that Finchem's membership indicated he shared
extremist views. Following the 2020 United States
presidential election, Finchem supported the "Stop
the Steal" movement which falsely claimed that
Donald Trump won the election nationally and in
Arizona. In 2021, Finchem shared on social media a
"report" falsely claiming to have uncovered tens of
thousands of missing or lost votes, and tens of
thousands of votes fraudulently cast, in Maricopa
County, Arizona. The report was based on
extrapolations from a non-random sample of a much
smaller number of voters and was rejected by county
elections officials and political scientists.
Finchem traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in
the January 6, 2021, protest that was followed by an
attack on the U.S. Capitol. He said there was
"substantial evidence that this election was a
fraud" and tweeted photographs of protestors massed
on the steps of the Capitol building. Finchem later
claimed that leftists had instigated the violence. A
coalition of community organizations subsequently
called for the expulsion of Finchem and six other
Arizona Republican lawmakers who advocated
overturning the 2020 election. In response to a
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) briefing that
said antifa groups were not involved in the attack
on the Capitol, Finchem said he did not "trust a
word that comes out of the FBI's mouth" Finchem then
called for the Arizona legislature to appoint
presidential electors of its own choosing.
Republican
candidate for Arizona Secretary of State who lost to
Adrian Fontes in the 2022 General Election. Finchem
is running
for election
to the
Arizona
State Senate
to represent
District 1.
He is on the
ballot in
the general
election on
November 5,
2024. He
advanced
from the
Republican
primary on
July 30,
2024.
"A trio of
high-profile
cases filed
by Arizona
Republicans
challenging
their losses
to Democrats
in the 2022
election are
over. The
Arizona
Supreme
Court on
Wednesday
declined to
hear appeals
brought by
Kari Lake,
Abe Hamadeh
and Mark
Finchem
related to
their losses
over two
years ago.
The decision
brings
finality to
the cases
two days
after
another
election in
which
Arizonans
elected
Hamadeh and
Finchem to
other
posts."
"Mark
Finchem,
the
Republican
nominee for
a state
Senate seat
in Arizona,
was a guest
on the
September 11
show of
Hitler-praising
antisemite
Scott McKay,
with the
host
offering to
help Finchem
when he
becomes a
state
senator.
McKay has
praised
Adolf Hitler
for
purportedly
“fighting
the same
people that
we're trying
to take down
today,” said
that Jewish
people
practice
“child
sacrifice”
and eat
their
hearts, and
claimed that
Jewish
people
engineered
9/11, among
other
antisemitic
statements.
Finchem is a
former
Arizona
state
representative,
failed
secretary of
state
candidate,
and an
election
denier who
was
reportedly
near the
U.S. Capitol
on January
6, 2021. He
also has a
history of
promoting
QAnon
propaganda.
He is now
the
Republican
nominee for
a state
Senate seat
in Arizona’s
District 1."
"Mark
Finchem
has lost
another
appeal
stemming
from his
loss in the
2022 race
for Arizona
secretary of
state, and
the court
decision
will cost
him money.
The ruling
from the
state Court
of Appeals
requires
Finchem to
pay a
"reasonable
portion" of
the
sanctions
already
granted to
Finchem's
rival,
Adrian
Fontes, who
won the
secretary of
state's seat
by more than
120,000
votes. The
ruling comes
less than
two months
before
Finchem, a
former
Tucson
lawmaker
turned
Prescott
resident,
competes in
a three-way
contest for
a state
Senate seat
representing
north-central
Arizona."
"The Supreme
Court
declined
Monday to
take up a
case brought
by
Republicans Kari
Lake and Mark
Finchem over
the use of
voting
machines in
Arizona
elections,
the latest
blow to the
duo of GOP
candidates
who have
seen their
lawsuit
rejected
several
times. Lake
and Finchem
asked the
Supreme
Court to
review a
federal
appellate
judge’s
decision to
dismiss
their case
last
October. The
suit sought
to block
electronic
voting
machines
from being
used in the
state,
questioning
their
accuracy and
reliability.
Lawyers for
Lake, who is
running for
a Senate
seat in
Arizona this
cycle, and
Finchem, who
is seeking a
state Senate
seat, argued
in a court
filing to
the Supreme
Court that
they had
sufficiently
argued that
all
“Arizona-certified
optical
scanners and
ballot
marking
devices, as
well as the
software on
which they
rely, have
been wrongly
certified
for use”;
Arizona’s
voting
machines had
been
“hacked” and
“manipulated”;
and that
there were
apparent
discrepancies
in the
Maricopa
County’s
vote count
after the
2020
election."
Apr. 22,
2024
The Election Denial Remains Strong With This One
Source: X
Not A Surprise That Finchem Supports Civil War Era Abortion Law
Source: X
Welcome To The Insurrectionist Feed Trough At Mar-A-Lago!
"Kari
Lake,
the
Republican
candidate
for Senate
in Arizona,
wants the
Supreme
Court to
upend how
Americans
vote by
declaring it
unconstitutional
for voters
to cast
their
ballots
through
electronic
voting
systems.
Attorneys
for Lake and
former
Arizona
state
Representative Mark
Finchem filed
a petition
with the
Supreme
Court on
Thursday,
asking the
court to
revive their
2022 lawsuit
challenging
the use of
electronic
voting
machines in
Arizona. It
had been
slammed by
judges as
"frivolous"
at the time.
In the new
filing,
attorney
Lawrence
Joseph asked
the Supreme
Court to
give the
Arizona
Republicans
a do over" [
. . . ] "The
petition is
the latest
development
that
continues to
drag out the
now two-year
fight over
Arizona's
election
system. The
plaintiffs
are asking
the Supreme
Court to
declare it
unconstitutional
"for any
public
election to
be conducted
using any
model of
electronic
voting
system to
cast or
tabulate
votes.""
"An attorney
who
represented
former
Republican
lawmaker Mark
Finchem in
an election
contest that
baselessly
claimed
fraud has
been
sanctioned
and ordered
to retire
for at least
one year.
Cave Creek
attorney
Daniel
McCauley, a
lawyer with
no
experience
in election
law,
represented
the former
Oro Valley
legislator
in
contesting
Finchem’s
election
loss. He and
Finchem
claimed that
Adrian
Fontes, who
defeated
Finchem in
the 2022
secretary of
state race,
only won
because of
election
malfeasance
at the hands
of Maricopa
County and
then-Secretary
of State
Katie Hobbs.
However, the
two men
provided no
evidence
that
anything
affected the
outcome of
the
election."
"Arizona actually had two fake elector plots—one a bunch of sovereign citizen goobers and the other organized by the Arizona Republican Party. The GOP was very proud of their crime, filming the whole thing and posting photos on their Twitter account. They smiled as they committed a felony, telling Republicans that theirs is the “only slate of 11 you need to worry about,” not the sovereign citizens and certainly not the duly elected and qualified electors. The happy faces in that photo are probably not smiling now. Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who pled guilty in the Georgia racketeering case, was one of the movers behind the fake electors scheme nationwide, and as part of his plea deal he’s agreed to testify against other co-conspirators."
"A federal
appeals
court
rejected an
attempt by
2022 GOP
candidates Kari
Lake and Mark
Finchem to
stop
Arizona’s
use of
electronic
voting
machines,
saying the
claims did
not raise a
“real and
immediate”
threat of
voter fraud.
The ruling
Monday by a
three-judge
panel of the
9th U.S.
Circuit
Court of
Appeals
upheld a
2022 U.S.
District
Court
decision to
dismiss the
suit on the
same
grounds. It
was the
latest
defeat for
Lake, the
failed
Republican
nominee for
Arizona
governor,
and Finchem,
the party’s
failed
nominee for
secretary of
state, who
have mounted
numerous
legal
challenges
to their
defeats.
Finchem said
Tuesday that
he is “not
at liberty”
to comment
on the
ruling.
Lake, who
recently
announced a
2024 bid for
U.S. Senate,
did not
immediately
respond to a
request for
comment."
"Failed
gubernatorial
candidate Kari
Lake and
secretary of
state
candidate Mark
Finchem want
a Ninth
Circuit
Court of
Appeals
panel to
reconsider
the
dismissal of
their
lawsuit
seeking to
ban
electronic
voting
systems." [
. . . ] "But
attorneys
for
Secretary of
State Adrian
Fontes and
for Maricopa
and Pima
Counties
point out Lake
and Finchem
have yet to
cite any
evidence of
hacked
tabulation
machines in
Arizona."
"Mark
Finchem,
a former
state
legislator
and a failed
candidate
for
secretary of
state, took
the stage
Aug. 16 at
an event put
on by
MyPillow CEO
Mike Lindell
in which the
pillow
mogul, whose
business has
been on the
decline
after years
of promoting
election
conspiracies,
spread
falsehoods
about the
election and
touted
likely
illegal
“solutions”
to ferret
out
perceived
fraud in the
election. "
[ . . . ]
"The Lindell
event
featured a
slew of
celebrities
within the
election
fraud world,
and behind
Lindell and
the speakers
was
prominent
text
directing
viewers to a
website
where
viewers were
urged to
donate to
help Lindell
in his
efforts.
Finchem, a
Republican
who
represented
the Tucson
area during
his time at
the state
Capitol,
promoted his
similar
organization
during his
appearance
at the
event. The
“Election
Fairness
Institute”
was featured
prominently
in slides
presented to
the audience
during his
presentation,
though he
never
mentioned
that he
founded and
runs the
nonprofit
organization. Finchem,
who
currently
has filed to
run for the
state Senate
in Yavapai
County’s
District 1,
has appeared
on QAnon
talk shows
promoting
the
organization
and raising
money from
the
conspiracy
adherents."
"Finchem,
who was the
Republican
nominee for
Arizona
secretary of
state in
2022, also
pushed the
baseless
conspiracy
theory that
the Sinaloa
drug cartel
bribed
Arizona
officials
and judges
to rig
elections."
"Three
current and
former
Republican
lawmakers
have been
rebuffed by
the state
Court of
Appeals in
their bid to
avoid paying
the legal
fees of a
Democrat who
a trial
judge said
was unfairly
sued by
them." [ . .
. ] "In a
unanimous
ruling
Thursday,
the
three-judge
panel said
that Yuma
County
Superior
Court Judge
Levi
Gunderson
was
absolutely
justified
last year in
requiring Mark
Finchem,
Sen. Anthony
Kern,
R-Glendale;
and U.S.
Rep. Paul
Gosar,
R-Bullhead
City, to
shell out
$75,000 that
Charlene
Fernandez,
then a state
representative
from Yuma,
had to pay
to her
attorneys to
successfully
defend
against a
defamation
suit they
brought
against her.
He tossed
their claim,
ruling the
lawsuit “was
brought for
an improper
purpose,
having been
filed
against a
political
opponent
primarily
for the
purposes of
harassment.”"
"Finchem on
Wednesday
filed a
“statement
of interest”
to run for
the state
Senate for
LD 1. That
is paperwork
required
before a
candidate
can begin to
collect
signatures
on
nominating
petitions.
Only thing
is, the
district
which
stretches
from Black
Canyon City
and
Wickenburg
through
Prescott all
the way to
Interstate
40 is
currently
represented
by Ken
Bennett.
And the
Prescott
Republican
already has
filed his
own
statement of
interest.
Finchem, in
separate
filings with
the
Secretary of
State’s
Office,
lists his
address on
Shiloh Road
in Prescott.
Yet Finchem,
who
represented
Oro Valley
until the
end of last
year, made a
filing in
December
with the
Arizona
Corporation
Commission
that listed
an address
in Surprise
— in LD 29."
"An Arizona
judge has
sanctioned
former
Republican
secretary of
state
candidate Mark
Finchem and
his attorney
over a
lawsuit
challenging
his loss in
last year's
election,
saying the
suit "was
groundless
and not
brought in
good faith."
Finchem's
suit raised
unsupported
claims that
his loss was
marred by
misconduct
and demanded
the results
be set aside
and the
election
redone. He's
refused to
concede to
Democrat
Adrian
Fontes, who
took office
in January.
Maricopa
County
Superior
Court Judge
Melissa
Julian
tossed out
Finchem’s
lawsuit in
December.
Fontes and
then-Secretary
of State
Katie Hobbs,
who is now
governor,
asked her to
sanction
Finchem for
requiring
them to
incur the
hassle and
expense of
defending
against a
baseless
lawsuit.
Julian said
in a ruling
dated March
1 that
Finchem must
pay the
reasonable
lawyer fees
incurred by
the Fontes
campaign and
by the
secretary of
state's
office,
which Fontes
now leads.
Those costs
have not
been
determined.
“Mr. Finchem
and bad
actors like
him cannot
be permitted
to avoid
accountability,”
Fontes said
in a
statement.
“He
continues to
grift off of
his broken
political
agenda using
fraudulent
schemes that
take
advantage of
Arizonans.”"
"Losing
Republican
candidates
Kari Lake
and Mark
Finchem are
still
attempting
to outlaw
the use of
machines to
tabulate
votes in
Arizona. Gubernatorial
candidate Kari
Lake and
secretary of
state
candidate
Mark Finchem
reiterated
their claims
made before
a trial
judge that
tabulation
machines are
not
secure. Their
plea to the
9th Circuit
Court of
Appeals is
that a trial
judge did
not give
them a
chance to
make their
case. U.S.
District
Court Judge
John Tuchi
tossed their
claims as
they did not
prove they
were harmed
by the
current
system and
that their
allegations
were vague.
Furthermore
he said the
candidates’
attorneys
filed a
frivolous
suit. The
suit is
seeking to
send the
case back to
Tuchi to
allow Lake and
Finchem
argue their
case in
court."
"The Arizona
Secretary of
State's
Office on
Thursday
referred a
campaign
finance
complaint
about
Republican Mark
Finchem to
the state
attorney
general for
investigation.
The
complaint
involves a
mailer that
landed in
voters'
mailboxes
without the
required
disclosure
during the
run-up to
the Nov. 8
election.
The mailer
slammed
Finchem's
opponent in
the
secretary of
state race,
Democrat
Adrian
Fontes, as
incompetent
when he ran
the Maricopa
County
Recorder's
Office and
promoted
Finchem as a
law
enforcement-friendly
champion of
transparent
elections."
"Finchem has
built a
national
profile as a
key
proponent of
misinformation
about the
2020
elections,
and was the
driving
force in
Arizona for
an event at
a Phoenix
hotel in
late
November
2021. At
that event,
Trump’s lead
attorney,
Rudy
Giuliani,
and other
pro-Trump
figures
gathered
with state
GOP
lawmakers
and the
president’s
supporters
to discuss
baseless
theories
that Joe
Biden won
Arizona’s
election by
fraud."
"A Maricopa
County
Superior
Court judge
tossed a
lawsuit on
Friday filed
by former
GOP
candidates Mark
Finchem and Jeff
Zink that
challenges
the results
of
November’s
general
election.
Judge
Melissa Iyer
Julian
dismissed
the lawsuit
with
prejudice,
which means
it cannot be
filed again.
The judge
also
confirmed
Adrian
Fontes won
the election
and is the
secretary of
state-elect
for
Arizona."
"In the
ruling this
week, U.S
District
Judge John
Tuchi said
the court
will not
condone
litigants
furthering
false
narratives
that
undermine
public trust
and that
financial
penalties
are
appropriate.
Tuchi
ordered Lake and Finchem’s
lawyers to
pay Maricopa
County’s
attorneys
fees, the
amount of
which has
yet to be
determined."
"If Mark
Finchem,
the who was
recently
accused of
antisemitism
and who days
ago Republican
candidate
for
secretary of
state in
Arizona and
a
QAnon-friendly
election
denialist attended
a conference
with
conspiracy
theorist
extremists,
wins on
Tuesday, he
will soon
oversee all
the state’s
elections,
including
the upcoming
2024
presidential
contest.
That
possibility
has long had
Democrats
and
democracy
activists
worried. And
in the weeks
before
Election
Day,
Finchem’s
ties to
far-right
fanatics who
have engaged
in armed
acts of
voter
intimidation
have
provided
even more
reason for
concern."
The old saying is "a picture is worth a thousand words." Well this clip of Mark Finchem going ballistic while “engaging” with a reporter from the Guardian must be worth a million words…or votes.
"“helped
organize the
January 6
protests
where police
were
attacked.” (Finchem insisted
he was not
involved in
the
organizing
of the
event. Video
footage
shows he was
by the east
steps of the
Capitol when
rioters were
battling law
enforcement
officers.)
In each
instance,
the lawyer
representing
Finchem was
a Phoenix
attorney
named Jack
Wilenchik.
Wilenchik,
who also
represented
the Cyber
Ninjas, the
firm that
conducted a
shoddy,
partisan,
and
discredited
review of
the Arizona
2020 vote
count (and
was
subsequently
shut down),
prevailed in
preventing
Finchem from
being kicked
off the
ballot. And
like his
client,
Wilenchik
was involved
in the
effort to
overturn the
2020
election.
His
participation
in one
particular
scheme to
keep Trump
in power
subsequently
raised
questions
about that
endeavor’s
legality."
"Mark
Finchem,
the
Republican
nominee for
Arizona
Secretary of
State, can’t
stop
contradicting
himself.
He’s been
spinning his
web of lies
since the
watershed
election
that ousted
his role
model and
backer,
former
President Donald
Trump.
Fresh off an
October 9
rally in
Mesa with
Trump and
other
Arizona
candidates,
Finchem
posted this
terse truism
on social
media on
October 11:
"Just follow
the law."
But for
Finchem, a
state
lawmaker
since 2014,
all crimes
are not
created
equal. He is
hardly the
first
politician
to promote
law and
order on the
campaign
trail. The
irony is
that, just
days before
the tweet,
he
participated
in an
interview
with
convicted
criminal
Micajah
Jackson, a
violent
homophobe
and
antisemite
who lives in
Phoenix and
took part in
the January
6, 2021,
attack on
the U.S.
Capitol.
Finchem
posted the
interview on
his campaign
website.
Earlier this
year,
Jackson
pleaded
guilty for
his role in
the
insurrection.
He was
sentenced to
36 months
probation
and 90 days
in a halfway
house."
"Mark
Finchem,
the
Republican
nominee for
secretary of
state, has
been a minor
player in
Arizona
politics
since
becoming a
state
legislator
in 2015. But
in the past
two years,
he’s built a
national
profile as
one of the
most ardent
backers of
baseless
claims that
the 2020
election was
marred by
widespread
fraud — and
that
nationwide
following is
evident in
his campaign
finance
reports."
"Finchem,
a state
legislator
from Oro
Valley, has
long been at
the
forefront of
narratives
around Jan.
6. The
lead
organizer of
the rally
that turned
into a
violent riot
said in an
interview
that
Arizona’s
“Stop The
Steal”
movement,
which fueled
the actions
of Jan. 6,
wouldn’t
have existed
without
Finchem. On
Finchem’s
old Twitter
account,
which he
deleted in
2021, he
frequently
spouted
misinformation
about the
2020
elections,
much of
which was
flagged by
Twitter as
being
incorrect.
He also
spearheaded
an event at
a Phoenix
hotel in
late
November
during which
Trump’s lead
attorney,
Rudy
Giuliani,
and other
pro-Trump figures
gathered
with state
GOP
lawmakers
and the
president’s
supporters
to discuss
baseless
theories
that Joe
Biden won
Arizona’s
election by
fraud."
"Mesa
County,
Colorado,
Clerk Tina
Peters, who
faces
multiple
felony
charges, may
have lost
her race in
June’s
primary GOP
election,
but her
false
allegations
of election
fraud live
on through
conspiracists
in Colorado
and
nationally.
One of those
currently
rallying
under her
banner is
state Rep. Mark
Finchem,
Arizona’s
Republican
candidate
for
Secretary of
State."
"During a
debate with
his
Democratic
rival Adrian
Fontes, the
moderator
asked Finchem whether
he approves
of mail-in
voting. "I
don’t care
for mail-in
voting,"
Finchem said
Sept. 22.
"That’s why
I go to the
polls." But
that’s not
what public
records show
about
Finchem’s
voting
history.
Since the
2004 general
election,
Finchem
voted by
mail in 28
out of 30
elections."
“"Now,
there’s this
narrative
out there
that five
officers
were killed
by the
insurrection," Finchem continued.
"That is
absolute BS.
That has
proven to be
debunked.
That is an
outright
lie, it’s
fantasy and
fabrication."
Finchem was
also present
on the
Capitol
grounds on
Jan. 6. Five
officers who
responded to
the Capitol
insurrection
died
following
the attack.
Capitol
Police
Officer
Brian
Sicknick
died one day
after he was
assaulted by
several
rioters
while
defending
the
building;
four other
officers who
were on duty
on Jan. 6
have died by
suicide."
"Arizona
Rep. Mark
Finchem dismissed
his repeated
failure to
follow state
laws on
financial
disclosures
as a
"technicality."
Finchem, who
is the GOP
candidate
for
secretary of
state, said
in a social
media post
on Tuesday
that not
reporting
years of
"paltry"
retirement
income does
not compare
with the way
his opponent
ran county
elections in
2018 and
2020.
"Filling out
retirement
income of a
paltry
amount
because of a
form
technicality
is NOTHING
like
bungling TWO
countywide
elections by
skirting the
law,"
Finchem said
on Telegram,
a private
site favored
by
conservatives.
"And any
media hack
who tries to
imply they
are the same
is a
Marxist-fringe
lunatic," he
said.
AZCentral on
Monday found
Finchem for
years did
not report
sources of
income and
business
interests on
the state
forms
required of
all elected
state
officials.
That
includes an
estimated
$160,000 in
monthly
retirement
benefits and
a business
that
received
money from
former
President Donald
Trump's
reelection
campaign in
2020.
Finchem, who
served for
21 years as
a public
safety
officer in
Kalamazoo,
Michigan,
avowed under
penalty of
perjury that
the
information
in his
financial
disclosure
forms was
"true and
correct.""
"Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem failed for years to follow state laws requiring elected officials to report their sources of income and business ties.
Finchem did not disclose nearly $2,000 a month in pension benefits and a few businesses in which he was involved from the time he took office in 2015 until January, financial records show.
The four-term Republican lawmaker from Oro Valley reported his longtime public safety pension for the first time in seven years after launching his bid to become Arizona's next secretary of state."
"When Fontes
was asked if
he agreed
with
Finchem, the
former
Marine
calmly
responded:
“we have to
have faith
in our
democracy.
Our
democracy
rests on the
decisions
thousands of
people make…
when we have
conspiracy
theories and
lies like
the ones
Mr. Finchem has
just shared,
based on no
real
evidence,
what we end
up doing is
eroding the
faith that
we have in
each other
as
citizens…the
kind of
divisiveness
not based in
fact, not
based in any
evidence
that we’ve
seen
trumpeted by
Mr. Finchem
is dangerous
for America
and we have
to call it
what it is.”
Finchem
protested,
saying “I
take
exception to
what he just
said,”
claiming
Fontes was
“running
over the
evidence
that has
been
presented…visual
evidence.”
He repeated
the ballot
harvesting
claims and
maintained
that this
has all been
recorded.
Moderator
Richard
Ruelas asked
if he was
talking
about the
“evidence”
from the
discredited
Dinesh
D’Souza 2000
Mules movie
and Finchem
said
“exactly.”"
"In a cover
story out
this week,
reporter
Charlotte
Alter said
she called Finchem,
an Oro
Valley
Republican,
and asked
him whether,
if Biden
wins Arizona
in 2024, he
as secretary
of state
would
certify the
vote.
Finchem
chuckled,
she
reported,
and said
this: "If
the law is
followed,
and
legitimate
votes have
been
counted, and
Joe Biden
ends up
being the
winner ...
I’m required
under the
law — if
there’s no
fraud — to
certify the
election.”
Then Finchem
added the
key kicker:
“I think
you’re
proposing
something
that, quite
frankly, is
a fantasy.”"
"Republican
Secretary of
State
nominee Mark
Finchem held
a fundraiser
in
California
on Sunday
that was
hosted by a
conspiracy
theorist who
believes
9/11 was
orchestrated
by the U.S.
government
and attended
by a
prominent
QAnon
influencer.
Nicole
Nogrady, who
hosted the
event, has
shared a
litany of
debunked
stories and
posts
concerning
COVID-19,
abortion and
other
falsehoods
on her
Instagram
account.
“They have
the public
addicted to
fetal
tissue,”
Nogrady said
in one post,
citing a
debunked
conspiracy
theory that
certain
foods and
drinks are
made with
aborted
fetal
tissue.
“Cannibalism
is
addictive,
which is why
people
become
addicted to
these
mainstream
corporate
products.”
Nogrady also
believes
that
airplanes
are spraying
chemicals to
geoengineer
the world, a
long
debunked
conspiracy
called
“chemtrails.”
On Sept. 11,
Nogrady also
posted on
Trump’s
Twitter
knock-off,
Truth
Social,
about her
beliefs that
the attack
that claimed
the lives of
2,977 people
21 years
prior was
done by the
“Deep
State.”"
"Prominent
Arizona
Jewish
groups are
accusing Mark
Finchem of
fueling his
campaign for
secretary of
state with
antisemitic
rhetoric.
They blasted
the
Republican
state
lawmaker
that said
Democratic
candidates
are beholden
to Jewish
philanthropist
George Soros
and former
New York
Mayor Mike
Bloomberg.
"You cannot
be trusted
to serve as
our
Secretary of
State," The
Jewish
Community
Relations
Council of
Greater
Phoenix
fired back
on Twitter.
"@RealMarkFinchem:
your
reliance on
#antisemitic
tropes to
spearhead
your
campaign is
an
embarrassment
to the
majority of
#Arizona
residents,"
the group
said in its
reply.
Finchem on
Thursday
defended the
Tweet as
political
speech. He
doubled down
on his
initial
claim,
saying
critics are
part of a
Soros
conspiracy
and their
objections
prove it."
[...] This
is not the
first time
Jewish
groups have
called out
Finchem.
They say he
embraces
white
nationalism,
is endorsed
by and
associates
with people
known for
antisemitic
statements
and uses
racist dog
whistles in
speeches.
"He's
dangerous,"
said Tony
Zinman,
co-chair of
Tucson Jews
for Justice.
"He doubles
down on who
he is: A
white
supremacist,
fascist and
an
antisemite.""
"Mark
Finchem,
the
Republican
nominee for
secretary of
state in
Arizona, has
enthusiastically
championed a
number of
conspiracy
theories—none
more so than
the
conspiracy
of a stolen
2020
election,
which is the
animating
force behind
his campaign
to run
Arizona’s
elections.
But in a
recent
campaign
speech,
Finchem
pushed the
envelope,
even by his
own
standards.
Just days
before he
won the
August
primary,
Finchem was
caught on
tape blaming
former Vice
President
Mike Pence
for
everything
from
orchestrating
a “coup” to
unseat Donald
Trump after
Jan. 6, to
allegedly
spying on
the Trump
campaign in
2016, to
scheming to
“steal” the
presidency
in 2024."
"An Arizona
judge has
ordered
three
Republicans,
including
secretary of
state
nominee Mark
Finchem and
U.S. Rep. Paul
Gosar,
to pay
$75,000 in
attorney
fees for
filing a
defamation
suit against
a former
Democratic
lawmaker
“primarily
for purposes
of
harassment.”"
Aug. 30,
2022
About Mark
Finchem's
Job With The
Kalamazoo
Police
Dept.:
"There's a simple reason why Mark Finchem never rescinded his support for controversial Oklahoma Senate candidate Jarrin Jackson. There is no need to wonder why on earth Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for Arizona secretary of state, did not rescind his endorsement of the homophobic, antisemitic Republican state Senate candidate in Oklahoma, Jarrin Jackson.
(before the media made a big stink about it) then rescinded it in a whisper. Finchem does not condemn racists, antisemites and homophobes like Jackson because … he needs them. They are, essentially, his core support group."
[ . . . ]
"Finchem is also a member of the far-right extremist Oath Keepers. The group’s founder and several members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection."
"In
interviews
with
Politico,
Arizona
Republicans
take shots
at Finchem,
who for
years has
served as a
state
legislator
in the
Arizona
House of
Representatives
and who has
developed a
reputation
as a
far-right
crank even
among his
GOP
colleagues."
Aug. 19,
2022
AZ GOP Secretary Of State Nominee Shares Extremist Anti-Government Conspiracies On Social Media
"The
Republican
nominee for
secretary of
state in
Arizona is a
self-proclaimed
member of
the
far-right
extremist
group the
Oath Keepers
who
repeatedly
shared
anti-government
conspiracies
and posts
about
stockpiling
ammunition
on social
media. CNN's
KFile team
uncovered
previously
unreported
posts from
Mark
Finchem, an
Arizona
state
representative
who won his
party's
nomination
with the
endorsement
of former
President Donald
Trump,
on several
social media
websites
linked from
his
since-deleted
former
Twitter
account. The
posts
included a
Pinterest
account with
a "Treason
Watch List,"
and pins of
photos of
Barack Obama
alongside
imagery of a
man clad in
Nazi attire
making a
Nazi
salute; Finchem also
shared
photos of
the
Holocaust
claiming it
could happen
in the
United
States."
"Finchem,
a Tucson
Republican,
didn't used
to be a
conspiracy
theorist.
Then he
received an
email, one
week after
the 2020
general
election,
that sent
him tumbling
down the Big
Lie rabbit
hole. He
became so
convinced
that the
sanctity of
Arizona’s
elections
has been
thoroughly
deflowered,
he even
doubled down
and called
fraud on his
own win in
the 2020
general
election,
according to
emails
leaked to
Phoenix New
Times."
"Two Arizona
Republicans
are
trumpeting
an
endorsement
from Andrew
Torba, the
CEO of
far-right
social media
platform
Gab, who
said earlier
this month
that Jewish
people
aren’t
welcome on
Gab — and
should be
exiled from
the
conservative
movement
altogether."
"Elected
officials
and
candidates
for office
in 2022
continue to
challenge
and question
the results
of the 2020
presidential
election in
Arizona.
The results
have been
examined and
re-examined,
challenged
in court and
in a
monthslong
ballot
review. No
evidence has
been found
of
widespread
fraud or
error in the
results.
Yet
candidates
deny the
outcome.
Others don't
quite go as
far. But
they raise
questions
about
potential
irregularities
they say
could have
influenced
the vote and
should be
examined.
The Arizona
Republic is
listing
candidates
by category
by the race
that they
are entered
in. This
list is not
complete and
will be
updated
throughout
the 2022
election
season.
Election
deniers
These
candidates
in Arizona
races deny
that Joe
Biden won
the 2020
presidential
election,
either in
Arizona or
nationwide."
"Two of
the four
Republicans
– state
Reps. Mark
Finchem and Shawnna
Bolick –
said had
they been
the
secretary of
state in
2020, they
would not
have
certified
the election
showing a
narrow Joe
Biden
victory over
Donald
Trump. Even
if the law
calls for
it. The
two were
among a
group of GOP
lawmakers
who signed
on to asking
that an
alternate
slate of
electors
for Trump be
accepted
instead, or
for all the
electoral
votes to be
nullified
until an
audit could
be done."
"Donald
Trump’s
top pick to
administer
Arizona
elections in
2024 is more
than a
garden-variety
backer — he
played a
little-known
but notable
role in
bolstering
the former
president’s
push to
subvert the
2020
ballot."
"Rep. Mark Finchem is busy fundraising, and not just for his campaign for Arizona secretary of state.
The Oro Valley Republican has three active fundraising accounts to deal with legal challenges and costs associated with his assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, despite numerous audits that have found no such evidence.
The fundraising appeals tie into the theme of his bid to become Arizona's top elections official, but they are separate from the ongoing campaign for the GOP nomination for secretary of state. In his campaign pitches, Finchem talks about broken election procedures and repeats the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump.
Finchem raised $663,000 in 2021 for his campaign. He cannot use those dollars to fund the legal and other expenses he has incurred while pressing the "Stop the Steal" narrative, leading to the separate accounts on a crowdfunding website.
One of those accounts seeks contributions to help him press a defamation case that he, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar and former Arizona state representative Anthony Kern filed against a former state Democratic leader. It goes to trial this week in Yuma County Superior Court". . .
In other words, as PROVEN by this bill, Republicans and ammosexuals find it wrong to discriminate against inanimate objects but have no problem discriminating against people.
"It’s not
surprising
that our
leaders
finally
broke down
and agreed
to allow the
public
schools to
spend money
that’s
already
sitting in
their bank
accounts –
money the
Legislature
appropriated
last June.
What is
stunning is
that 20
Republicans
– 14 in the
House and
six in the
Senate –
actually
voted to
stiff the
schools and
to heck with
the impact
on the one
million
Arizona
children who
attend
them."
"But before
he [Finchem]
can give his
full
attention to
the
statewide
campaign
bid, he must
comply with
a demand
from the
U.S. House
Select
Committee on
the January
6 Attack to
turn over
his personal
communication
documents.
Finchem, who
falsely
declared
himself an
elector for
defeated
President
Donald
Trump,
posted on
social media
recently,
“They paint
me as a
threat to
democracy.”"
"Mark
Finchem,
the Arizona
secretary of
state
candidate
backed by
former
President Donald
Trump,
spread
dangerous
misinformation
about the
Covid-19
pandemic on
social
media,
calling the
vaccine a
"crime
against
humanity,"
implying it
was a
"bio-weapon"
and sharing
an article
last August
that
suggested
Covid-19 did
not exist in
the Canadian
province of
Alberta.
[...] In
August 2021,
Finchem
shared a
story
riddled with
misinformation
on the
coronavirus
and vaccine
on the
platform Gab
-- a social
media
network
popular with
conservatives,
the
alt-right
and some
extremists
-- writing,
"It ain't a
vaccine!!!
Call it what
it is, a
crime
against
humanity.""
"Two Arizona
Republicans
are among
six people
issued
subpoenas
Tuesday by
the House
Jan. 6
Committee,
with state
Rep. Mark
Finchem and
state GOP
Chair Kelli
Ward told
to turn over
documents
and appear
for
depositions
next month.
The
individuals
included in
the latest
batch of
subpoenas
for records
and
interviews
were
reportedly
among the Donald
Trump supporters
involved in
sending
slates of
so-called
"alternate
electors" to
Congress to
be included
in the
electoral
votes cast
for
president in
the 2020
election.
Finchem, a
member of
the state
House from
Oro Valley,
is running
in the
Republican
primary to
be Arizona
secretary of
state — the
office that
oversees
elections.
Ward, who
served a
single term
in the state
Senate
before twice
unsuccessfully
seeking the
nod from GOP
voters in
U.S. Senate
primaries,
has been the
chair of the
state
Republican
Party since
2019. Both
Finchem and
Ward have
been
outspoken
Trump
supporters
and backed
the
drawn-out
and bumbling
"audit" of
the election
in Maricopa
County,
hewing to
the
conspiracist
line that
the election
was "stolen"
from the
former
president.
The phone
records of
Ward and her
husband were
already
subpoenaed
earlier this
month by the
committee.
They filed
suit to
block those
documents
from being
turned
over."
"Former President Donald Trump and his allies have cheered a resolution by a Republican Arizona state lawmaker to decertify the 2020 election won by Joe Biden — a proposal that has no legal merit and isn’t going anywhere. "Arizona House bill would decertify three counties in Arizona," said a Feb. 8 Facebook post by David J. Harris, a conservative commentator. The post links to an article on his website that says that if the resolution passes, "it could effectively recall the Biden electors." He’s wrong. The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The resolution he’s talking about was authored by State Rep. Mark Finchem. Trump, who has endorsed Finchem as a candidate for Arizona secretary of state, declared the resolution "big news in Arizona!" But it’s just wishful thinking by people who see political gain in rehashing the falsehood that Biden’s victory was the result of voter fraud."
"Republican
Rep. Mark
Finchem’s
House
Concurrent
Resolution
2033 reads
like a
seven-page
laundry list
of imagined
grievances
and debunked
conspiracy
theories,
topped off
by a fantasy
belief that
the Arizona
Legislature
somehow has
the power to
decertify
the results
of the
election in
Maricopa,
Pima and
Yuma
counties and
recall the
state’s 2020
presidential
electors.
The real
ones, I
mean. Not
the phony
electors put
forth by the
state GOP
Chairwoman Kelli
Ward and
what could
be her
fellow
co-conspirators."
"State Rep. Mark
Finchem,
who is
running for
secretary of
state, filed
HCR 2033 on
Monday,
which says
that is it
is the
"justifiable
position of
the Arizona
State
Legislature
that we set
aside the
results of
the
Maricopa,
Pima and
Yuma County
elections as
irredeemably
compromised
and reclaim
the 2020
Presidential
Electors."
"Kari Lake, a former TV anchor who's running for governor, began her speech with the theme of some of the other speakers, praising America under Trump and listing its problems under Biden. As did others, she called Trump “president” and slammed the 2020 election as “rotten to the core.”"
[...]
"Like-minded Trump supporters in the Legislature included speakers at Saturday's rally such as Rogers, Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, and former representative Anthony Kern, who's running for the state Senate."
[...]
“They attacked Donald Trump because he exposed them and their evil deeds,” said Finchem, who's running for Arizona secretary of state, a position that oversees state elections."
"The
Desperate
Arizona
Quest to
Uncover a
Conspiracy
continues on
Monday as
Rep. Mark
Finchem convenes
a “hearing”
into voter
fraud in the
state’s 2020
election.
This time,
he’s delving
deep into
the details
of a
13-month old
email. An
email from
some
anonymous
guy whose
claims
already have
been
investigated
and
discarded.
Told you
desperation
has set in."
"The four
Republicans
who ...
circulated
baseless
conspiracy
theories
about a 2020
Donald Trump
presidential
victory in
Arizona and
pushed for
the Senate's
partisan
audit of
Maricopa
County's
election
results are
continuing
on the same
path more
than a year
later. [...]
U.S. Reps. Andy
Biggs and Paul
Gosar,
state Rep. Mark
Finchem,
R-Oro
Valley, and
former
Representative Anthony
Kern,
R-Glendale,
were at the
U.S. Capitol
on Jan. 6,
encouraging
the overturn
of election
results."
"Finchem is no stranger to conspiracies and the far-right. In fact, before heading to the Arizona Legislature, he had already joined the Oath Keepers—who played a leading role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the militia group is “founded on the belief that the federal government is part of an evil conspiracy intent on stripping Americans of their natural rights and freedoms.” Its members have encouraged violence in opposition. The founder of Oath Keepers has previously encouraged the murder of elected officials, including in 2015 openly calling for the late Sen. John McCain to be put to death by hanging."
[...]
"He previously served as the Arizona coordinator for the Coalition of Western States—a group of legislators and activists who supported the armed occupation of Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016. He also signed a letter of support to pardon arsonists who burned federal government land."
[...]
"Following the horrific events of the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, Finchem denied any far-right involvement in the event—claiming that mainstream media was lying and that it was a Deep State PSYOP to construct a political narrative for Democrats. It was not. He also falsely accused contemporary Democrats as being the true members of the Ku Klux Klan who joined the rally."
[...]
"Mark Finchem also parrots far-right conspiracies on vaccines. Sure, Finchem got COVID-19 himself. And yes, his mother lost her decades long battle with cancer soon after contracting the virus. But on his official Twitter in July, he warned President Joe Biden to take his “tweet as Arizona’s statewide ‘no trespassing sign.’ You and your vaccine henchmen have been forewarned.” I am unsure what exactly he is threatening here, but I believe you can read between the lines.
Finchem’s supply of money also comes from the right-wing extremists. One of his leading campaign funders is Daniel Brophy, a Wyoming-based political megadonor and brother of former State Sen. Kate Brophy McGee of Phoenix. According to a local legal group, Sen. McGee herself once described her brother as having alt-right political views after he gave money to her political rival. When a woman who has proudly touted her anti-LGBTQ+ bonafides and was painted as a bygone example of the Arizona GOP by English newspaper The Guardian calls you alt-right, I am going to have to take her word for it.
Rep. Finchem also attended the premiere of a “documentary” called The Deep Rig about an alleged conspiracy in the 2020 election. The film featured Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan (who confirmed himself as “Anon” in the movie), former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, and other leaders of election conspiracies in Arizona. Finchem supported the film despite the fact that its director has a history of baseless conspiracies—including the dedication of an entire film to the argument that extraterrestrials were the cause of the Sep. 11 attacks on the Twin Towers"
[...]
"Given his evident belief in the conspiracies of the far-right, of course Finchem was at the insurrection on Jan. 6 himself. Despite claiming that he never made it closer than 500 yards to the Capitol building, footage of the event clearly shows the politician in attendance himself. He also tweeted in praise of the insurrectionists. Plus, the prominent “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander identified Finchem as the starting point of the anti-democratic movement in Arizona.
Not only was he there, but he then spread more conspiracies after the fact. In his newsletter following the attack in D.C., he claimed (falsely) that facial recognition technology had identified masses of leftist activists in the crowd. He also accused Antifa of responsibility for violence at the Capitol building, despite having no evidence for such claims. Further, even in the face of proof of him attending the event, he has repeatedly threatened to sue anybody attempting to connect him to the events at the Capitol."
"Mack, a
former Oath
Keepers board
member and a
supporter of
the Bundy
family’s
armed
standoff
with federal
officials,
founded the
Constitutional
Sheriffs and
Peace
Officers
Association,
which
teaches law
enforcement
officials
that “the
power of the
sheriff even
supersedes
the powers
of the
president.”"
"Pfizer
likely may
not have its
executives
at the QAnon
conference
in Las Vegas
on Oct.
22-25, but
three
Arizona
legislators
it gave
money to
will be
there as
“special
guests” and
speakers.
The three
Republican
Arizona
legislators
are Rep. Mark
Finchem,
Rep. Leo
Biasiucci and
Sen. Sonny
Borrelli.
In the 2018
and 2020
election
cycles, the
drug maker
gave Finchem
a total of
$900 and
Biasiucci a
total of
$800. Pfizer
gave Borelli
a combined
$1,000
between 2014
and 2018.
QAnon
followers
have become
one of the
leading
national
sources of
conspiracy
theories
about the
Covid-19
vaccines
produced by
Pfizer and
others.
Based on the
belief that
there is a
worldwide
Satan-worshipping
pedophile
network
controlling
the
government
and media, QAnon
has
increasingly
become
enmeshed
with claims
that
Covid-19 is
a hoax and
that the
injection’s
purpose it
to insert a
tracking
chip in
peoples’
arms" [...]
"Finchem,
who is
running for
Arizona
Secretary of
State and
has been
endorsed by
former
President
Trump, has
fully
embraced
Trump’s big
lie that the
2020
election was
stolen and
was outside
the Capitol
on Jan. 6
while it was
being
stormed by
pro-Trump insurrectionists."
"The most
recent slate
of speakers
also
includes
Republican
state
legislators Mark
Finchem and Wendy
Rogers —
the former
was at the
Capitol on
Jan. 6 and
the latter
cheered on
the violent
failed coup
on social
media — U.S.
Senate
candidate Jim
Lamon,
and
congressional
candidates Jeff
Zink and Eli
Crane."
"In an
endorsement
statement he
issued on
Monday, Trump called Finchem "a
true
warrior" and
lauded him
for
spreading
discredited
fraud claims
about the
election."
And yet another conspiracy theory from the highly unstable Right.
Photo: Gab
Republican legislators (left to right) Rep. Mark Finchem, Sen. Sonny Borrelli and Sen. Wendy Rogers spoke on Aug. 12, 2021, at Mike Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium.” Photo: Twitter.
"one of the
cybersecurity
experts that
Lindell
hired told
the
Washington
Times that
Lindell
failed to
provide the
data he had
long
promised to
deliver. The
expert, Josh
Merritt,
said the
data that
Lindell did
provide
cannot prove
China hacked
the
election.
“We were
handed a
turd,” he
said."
"Several
prominent
Arizona
Republicans
issued a
joint letter
Wednesday
afternoon
asking Gov. Doug
Ducey to
withhold
funding and
begin legal
action
against
school
districts
that are not
following
state laws."
Aug. 11,
2021
BTW, Mr.
Finchem has
no authority
to arrest or
interfere
with any
official.
"Video that
emerged on
social media
this week
shows that Finchem was
wrong when
he said in
January he
was no
closer than
500 yards to
the Capitol
during the
insurrection
on Jan. 6.
He was much
closer,"
Steller
noted.
"Another
video that
emerged this
week shows
Finchem
echoing
QAnon
talking
points about
powerful
pedophile
networks,
something he
has not
normally
talked about
in public."
"Arizona
state Rep. Mark
Finchem,
one of the
biggest
proponents
of the
controversial
election
audit in
Maricopa
County, is
vying for
the top
election
official
spot
currently
held by
Democrat
Katie Hobbs"
"Lawyers
for Finchem sent
a letter
dated May 5
to Rural
Arizonans
for
Accountability,
a group of
Arizona
residents
working to
file a
petition to
recall him,
demanding
they
"immediately
cease and
desist from
publishing
and retract
all false
and
defamatory
allegations
contained in
materials
that you
have
published in
support of
your
campaign to
recall Rep.
Finchem."
"Republican
Rep. Mark
Finchem is
asking his
followers to
give him
money so he
can pay off
the $15,500
he spent to
host an
unofficial
election
integrity
hearing in
November."
"More than
two months
after the
insurrection,
these
lawmakers
still hold
their
elected
position and
have not
been held
accountable
for their
actions
despite
repeated
calls for
some to be
disciplined
or expelled
from the
legislature."
"When Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem authored a paper about why he believed the Legislature had the authority to overturn the results of the presidential election, he described himself as a "legislative fellow in residence" at the University of Arizona's College of Law.
One problem: Finchem, an Oro Valley Republican, does not now and has never held a fellowship at the law school.
The paper was posted on the website of the Pathway Research and Education Corporation, a nonprofit Finchem chairs. He also has recently encouraged supporters to donate to that organization, telling backers in a recent interview with Prescott E-News that he was raising funds "for a potential legal defense" and was "examining litigation" against Democratic lawmakers who had called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate him."
"Text
messages
show that
Congressman Andy
Biggs was
apparently
coordinating
with Finchem to
gather
signatures
from Arizona
lawmakers
who endorsed
a slate of
fake
electors
from the
state as
part of the
broader
effort to
overturn the
2020
election
results.
It's unknown
if that's
the same
group of
fakers who
were caught
in December
sending a
letter to
the National
Archives in
Washington
D.C. that
fraudulently
claimed
Arizona's
electors
cast their
votes for Trump.
The real 11
electors
cast their
votes a week
later for
Biden, in
accordance
with the
wishes of a
majority of
Arizona
voters."
"Oro Valley
Republican Mark
Finchem filed
an ethics
complaint
against
every
Democratic
member of
the Arizona
legislature
Tuesday for
a letter
they sent
last month
asking the
Department
of Justice
and FBI to
investigate
his and
other
lawmakers’
alleged
roles in the
Jan. 6
insurrection
at the U.S.
Capitol"
"Republican
Arizona
Representative Mark
Finchem released
text
messages on
"Tuesday
that show
him
coordinating
with Ali
Alexander, a
prominent
conservative
activist who
helped
organize the
infamous
January 6
rally at the
U.S. Capitol
that became
a deadly
riot"
"Arizona
courts have
ruled that
records on a
public
official's
private
device can
be
considered a
public
record if
those
records
relate to
public
business and
the phone
was used for
a public
purpose."
"State
Representative Mark
Finchem served
as "Arizona
Coordinator"
for the
Coalition of
Western
States, a
group that
supported
the infamous
armed
occupation
of the
Malheur
National
Wildlife
Refuge in
Oregon in
2016."
"A
Republican
Arizona
lawmaker
appeared to
agree with a
former porn
star’s
suggestion
that
Democrats
were
responsible
for the wave
of mail
bombs sent
to
Democratic
targets this
week."
"Rep. Mark
Finchem,
R-Oro
Valley,
agreed that
the state’s
U.S.
senators
pretty much
ignore state
lawmakers.
“I’ve called
a number of
times to try
and get
help,’’ he
said. “I
don’t even
get a
secretary,’’
Finchem
explained.
“I get a
voicemail
that says,
‘We are
currently
not taking
any more
messages."
"This
gunfight was
triggered by
a complaint
by state
Rep. Mark
Finchem,
a Christian
conservative
Republican
from Oro
Valley who
asked
Arizona
Attorney
General Mark
Brnovich to
withhold all
of the
state-shared
revenues
that the
city
receives
until the
city stops
destroying
guns and
instead
starts
auctioning
them off to
gun
dealers."
"The bill by
Rep. Mark
Finchem of
Oro Valley
would strip
a
requirement
that
residents
pay attorney
fees if they
lose a
lawsuit
against a
state or
local
government
for failing
to properly
enforce
federal
immigration
law."
