By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Gov. Katie Hobbs said Wednesday no one should be prosecuted for informing others -- even in real time on social media -- where immigration officials are conducting enforcement actions.
But the governor told Capitol Media Services she wouldn't do that herself.
The governor's comments come as Senate President Warren Petersen has asked the U.S, Attorney for Arizona to investigate whether Sen. Analise Ortiz is violating federal law with her posts. And Petersen, is suggesting that the Phoenix Democrat could face legislative discipline.
"Sen. Ortiz is fortunate the Legislature is not currently in session, as her remarks would no doubt face significant scrutiny from her colleagues,'' Petersen said in a prepared statement. "Public servants have a duty to uphold the law and respect those who enforce it, not undermine them.''
That was backed up by a post by Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican, who said he will be filing a complaint against Ortiz for violating ethical rules that govern the conduct of lawmakers.
"She should be expelled from the Arizona Legislature,'' he wrote.
But the issue is now larger than just Ortiz as others, saying the raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are causing fear and alarm in their communities. And Ortiz said it's not limited to those who are not here legally.
"I find it important to let people know that, especially because, right now, the Trump administration is going after people regardless of status,'' Ortiz said, targeting even U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. "So people have an interest in protecting themselves.''
Hobbs acknowledged she has a bit of anxiety concerns about such activities.
"I am concerned about the safety of law enforcement officers,'' she said. "And I am concerned that, in conducting activities, that calling the public to congregate could interfere with their jobs and with their safety.''
But illegal?
"I don't think people should be prosecuted for things that they post online,'' she said.
What appears to have caused the dust-up is that Ortiz was sharing a post from someone else that alerted people that ICE was outside an elementary school.
"So they are targeting school kids and, potentially, ripping their parents away from them in the middle of a school day,'' she said.
"So I find it important to let people know that, especially because, right now, the Trump administration is going after people regardless of status,'' Ortiz said, targeting even U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. "So people have an interest in protecting themselves.''
And the senator said she considers sharing such information no different than when she uses her social media to point out other things of interest to people in her community, like food banks.
But what happened this time, Ortiz said, is that LibsOfTiktok, a site that posts conservative viewpoints, posted that Ortiz "is actively impeding and doxxing ICE by posting their live locations on Instagram.''
"Yep,'' Ortiz responded to the account. "When ICE is around, I will alert my community to stay out of the area, and I'm not f***ing scared of you nor Trump's masked goons.''
More to the point, she told Capitol Media Services, nothing she has done -- or is doing -- is illegal.
"No personal information about the agent was shared at all,'' Ortiz said.
"It is absolutely ridiculous to make a claim that this constitutes as doxxing or putting them in danger,'' she said. "They were engaged in public activity in a publicly accessible area.''
And Ortiz said there's legal precedent for her ability to do that.
"It's no different than using the Waze app to alert someone that there's a speed trap down the highway,'' she said. That app, available on cell phones, provides not only traffic directions but allows users to report where they have seen police officers using radar.
"I feel fully confident in the fact that I was sharing constitutionally protected information that is public information,'' Ortiz said. "And I have a First Amendment right to express that.''
She also took a swat at Petersen for filing the complaint, pointing out that he is a lawyer and is running to be the Republican nominee for attorney general.
"He doesn't understand the law,'' Ortiz said. "He's making it clear that he will use his political power to escalate unwarranted political attacks on opponents.''
Petersen did not respond to repeated requests to comment.
Hoffman, for his part, said Wednesday the question of whether posting the location of ICE activity is "a matter for the justice system to determine.'' But he said none of that affects the complaint he is crafting against Ortiz.
"It is without a doubt unethical, unprofessional, and a clear violation of her oath of office for Ortiz to be undermining law enforcement activity,'' Hoffman said. But Hoffman never directly answered a question about whether notifying others of the presence of ICE actually undermines law enforcement, instead responding with a list of what he said are "criminal illegal aliens'' who he said the Democrats are attempting to harbor.
Ortiz, however, said none of that relates to what she is posting.
"No personal information about the agent was shared at all,'' Ortiz said.
"It is absolutely ridiculous to make a claim that this constitutes as doxxing or putting them in danger,'' she said. "They were engaged in public activity in a publicly accessible area.''
Hobbs, for her part, is taking a more nuanced approach to the whole issue.
"Look, I understand her concerns,'' the governor said of Ortiz.
"And I'm not going to police her social media or what she posts or anyone else,'' she continued. "But we have really heightened for things to blow up like we saw recently, in L.A. in particular. And I think we need to be cognizant of that.''
But the bottom line, Hobbs said, is she does not believe such activities are illegal.
And Ortiz, for her part, made it clear she doesn't intend to back down in the face of Petersen's comments.
"I will not be intimidated,'' she wrote in her Instagram account.
"I will alert our community to avoid the area when Trump's masked thugs terrorize us all, regardless of citizenship,'' Ortiz wrote, saying the president doesn't respect laws or the Constitution. "My duty is to keep people safe from his unconstitutional and authoritarian actions.''
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