By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- The head of the conservative Freedom Caucus is moving to eject Sen. Analise Ortiz from the Senate because she informed followers on her social media about immigration enforcement in her community.
In an ethics complaint filed Wednesday, Sen. Jake Hoffman contends that the action by the Phoenix Democrat fits within the definition of disorderly behavior. The Queen Creek Republican also said it runs afoul of Senate rules for violating the public trust and for being "unethical or unprofessional conduct."
But Hoffman, who is asking for expulsion, acknowledged that he probably doesn't have the necessary two-thirds vote in the Senate where Republicans hold only 17 of the 30 seats. So instead he wants something just short of that, including kicking her out of her office space, removal from all committees and even stripping her of any staff support -- all things that could be done either by Senate President Warren Petersen himself or with a simple majority vote of the Senate.
An inquiry by the Ethics Committee, however, may be just part of the problem facing Ortiz.
Sen. Shawnna Bolick, the Phoenix Republican who heads the Ethics Committee, not only agreed within hours of Hoffman's complaint to open a probe but is suggesting that Ortiz violated a state law that making "doxing'' a crime. That involves the electronic release of personal identifying information on someone without that person's consent with the intent to provoke harassment.
Bolick, however, did not respond to questions about how publishing the location of something occurring in public -- and without the names of those participating -- runs afoul of that law.
But Bolick also could make a federal criminal case out of all this.
She sent a letter Wednesday to Timothy Courchaine, the new interim U.S. Attorney for Arizona installed by the Trump administration, asking him to launch his own investigation to determine if Ortiz violated federal law. She said that what Ortiz has admitted doing -- telling constituents about ICE officers near a school -- could be considered "interference with federal law enforcement operations.''
The Democratic senator is unapologetic, saying all she did is repost something online that already was online that "masked, armed men were outside a school in our community."
And she reacted angrily to the suggestion that she was violating any laws.
"They know damn well that sharing public information about visible law enforcement activity in our communities does not constitute as doxing,'' she told Capitol Media Services. In fact, Ortiz contends, it is Republicans and their allies who, in publicly claiming she is doing something illegal, who are crossing the ethical line.
"I have received threats to my personal safety because of this lie in saying that masked agents outside of a school is equivalent to doxing when it absolutely is not,'' she said
"By continuing to perpetrate that lie, Sen. Bolick and her Republican colleagues are continuing to incite political violence against me,'' Ortiz continued. "It's quite frankly disgusting that this is how low they are willing to go to score cheap political points.''
But Hoffman, in his complaint, said it is Ortiz who has acted improperly -- and in a manner that he believes makes her unfit to serve.
"Although Senator Ortiz continues to feign moral superiority in this manner, it should be noted that it is she who is out of touch with reality,'' he said.
Hoffman said all nations have -- and enforce -- immigration laws.
"Those who find themselves oppositional to the basic premise that foreigners should not be able to violate the laws of a nation with impunity are unfit to make laws for everyone else,'' he wrote in his complaint.
What started all this was Ortiz sharing a post from someone else that alerted people on Aug. 5 that ICE agents were outside an elementary school on the southwest side of Phoenix.
"I reshare different content from different accounts," she said. For example, there's a recent post about a Maryvale Resource Fair this Saturday.
"They are going to extreme levels of intimidation to block me from doing my job in LD 24 because they want police operations to happen in secret," she said. "And they want people to be terrified by what they are witnessing in our communities."
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.''
Things escalated from there.
"Yep,'' Ortiz responded online. "When ICE is around, I will alert my community to stay out of the area, and I'm not f****** scared of you nor Trump's masked goons.''
When Hoffman interjected himself with his own press release, she followed it with another social media post.
"Bring it on, Jake,'' she wrote. "ICE alerts keep people away from the area since these lawless thugs are gleefully disappearing people, including US citizens and lawful residents.''
All that, Hoffman wrote in his complaint, show Ortiz "is openly and brazenly advocating for lawlessness, even at the potential cost of violence against those charged with the solemn and often dangerous duty of enforcing our nation's laws.''
"The consequence of her action is not only evasion of the law, but potential danger posed to officers of the law,'' he continued. "This is unacceptable behavior for an elected official who similarly has sworn an oath to the U.S. and Arizona constitutions and is charged with upholding the duly enacted laws of our state and nation.''
Hoffman did not respond to repeated messages asking how publicizing or reporting something that is occurring in public view -- as was the case with the ICE agents -- is in any way unethical or improper, much less illegal.
Ortiz, for her part, called the move to expel her or discipline her in any way for doing something she believes is completely legal "authoritarian tactics.''
"It's disgusting and it's scary,'' she said. "This is an escalation and it needs to be talked about as such.''
Bolick said she is preparing for the Ethics Committee probe, including adopting the rules for the panel.
"Until then, the process remains with the U.S. Attorney's Office, whose review will inform the committee's next steps,'' she said.
There was no immediate response from Courchaine or anyone in his office to questions about what, if anything, it intended to do with the complaint.
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