On Tuesday, the Arizona Republican Party called on Attorney General Mark Brnovich to “immediately investigate” Katie Hobbs and the Secretary of State’s Office in the wake of allegations that her government agency directed a private company to suppress free speech.
“The Republican Party of Arizona calls on Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to immediately investigate the Secretary of State over a government agency directing a private company (Twitter) to suppress free speech. The First Amendment protects citizens’ speech from the government – and not the other way around. As Americans we have the right to be critical of our government and vocalize those concerns. In fact, that is why our Founding Fathers went to war for independence and created this very nation. If you find this contest to be in violation of 18 US Code § 241, or other applicable law, we urge you to prosecute the offense or make any appropriate referral to the district attorney,” the request read.
In an appearance on KFYI’s James T. Harris show, newly elected Arizona State Representative Alex Kolodin, who serves as the attorney for the Arizona Republican Party, explained that while Hobbs went through a private organization to squelch free speech, under the state actor doctrine a person or organization acting on behalf of a governmental body is subject to limitations imposed on government by the United States Constitution:
Lawyer Alex Kolodin discusses Twitter's collusion with the Democrat Party and what officials may be involved in it. https://t.co/xgIXrVIyFN
— James T Harris (@JamesTHarris) December 6, 2022
As previously reported in the Arizona Daily Independent:
According to the emails disclosed in court filings, Hobbs’ office asked the Center for Information Security (CIS) to review two tweets posted by an account with 21 followers. Within 30 minutes, CIS tapped Twitter to handle the issue, who promised to “escalate.” Twitter resolved the issue several hours later by removing both tweets.
The coordination between Hobbs and Twitter was revealed in court filings for a case before the Louisiana Western District Court: Missouri v. Biden. At issue in the case is whether President Joe Biden and his administration violated the First Amendment by directing social media companies’ censorship of speech pertaining to COVID-19.
Governor-Elect Hobbs Dictated Twitter Speech While Secretary of State