A Gilbert woman with a history of suing public officials for perceived misconduct is trying to amend a federal lawsuit she filed against a former state senator by adding several defendants to the case, including former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and one-time Trump attorney Sidney Powell.
Staci Burk had sued then-Sen. Kelly Townsend last year, alleging in a rambling complaint that several people engaged in some type of concerted effort which led to Burk being “held hostage, gaslit, and terrorized” in the aftermath of the 2020 General Election.
Townsend’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in March, which U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Fine granted on May 9. But the judge also gave Burk until July 21 to file an amended complaint that complies with federal court rules.
And that is what Burk appears to have done Friday when Townsend was joined as a defendant by Flynn and Powell, as well as Ryan Hartwig and John Shattuck.
The specific claims Burk makes against the four new defendants and whether she has altered her allegations against Townsend is unknown, as the amended complaint is not yet available via the federal court.
But the original lawsuit against Townsend made bizarre claims of false imprisonment, unreasonable search and seizure, assault and battery, interference with familial relationships, as well as both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
It alleged some people “insinuated” that Burk “would be killed or arrested on false charges for discussing what she knew” about the 2020 election. Burk also alleged in the original lawsuit that now expelled-Rep. Liz Harris “coerced and encouraged” her with “outlandish falsities” related to the election.
This included, Burk alleged, Harris’s desire to see Burk’s lawsuit against then-Gov. Doug Ducey and then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs over allegations of “a widespread scheme and artifice” during the 2020 General Election taken up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
At one point, Burk alleged, Harris “aggressively pressured” Burk to get a Petition for Writ of Certiorari filed despite Burk’s ongoing physical and mental problems at the time. Those problems purportedly included a heart issue, which Burk says, “was ignored by Harris” in an effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court consider the case.
Burk has not named Harris as a defendant in the current legal action against Townsend, et al, but her claims of a conspiracy beg comparison to the unsupported allegations of corruption leveled by a woman Harris invited to the Legislature back in February.
Harris continues to contend she did nothing wrong by allowing Jacqueline Breger to accuse Hobbs, House Speaker Ben Toma, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and dozens of other public and private persons of engaging in criminal conduct on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Burk and Townsend developed an acquaintance more than a decade ago through a local school board. They both went on to question the 2020 General Election results, with Townsend seeking information via legislative actions until her term expired at the end of 2022.
Burk, on the other hand, has utilized the court system, although she has not prevailed in any of the election cases. Her case against Ducey and Hobbs, however, provides some information about Hartwig and Shattuck, two of the new defendants named in Burk’s lawsuit against Townsend.
The men are named in the petition Burk filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2021 as part of her allegations that persons engaged in “illegally and fraudulently manipulating the vote count to manufacture an election of Joe Biden as President of the United States.”
That petition, which was summarily denied by SCOTUS a few weeks later, outlined some of the same underlying allegations Burk has made in her lawsuit against Townsend, including allegations that Hartwig was one of several people who went to Sky Harbor Airport on Nov. 7, 2020, in search of proof that a South Korean airplane landed in Phoenix on Nov. 5 carrying a cargo of illegal ballots.
According to Burk, the tip was received by Hartwig.
“The plane came from Seoul, South Korea, bypassing customs on specific order from the Department of Homeland Security,” Burk alleged in the SCOTUS petition, adding that the tipster said the plane was still at the airport but was leaving the evening of Nov. 7.
Those who went to the airport, according to Burk, included Hartwig, Tom Van Flein from Congressman Paul Gosar’s office, and congressional candidate Josh Barnett.
“They recorded the plane’s video, capturing the tail number and several individuals loading cargo onto the aircraft,” Burk noted in the petition. “Josh Barnett and another witness followed the men from the tarmac to their house and recorded the address.”
As for Shattuck, the petition notes he was introduced to Burk after contacting one of the men providing security for her.
“John Shattuck told Petitioner that he is in frequent communication with Pentagon officials and acts as a liaison” between the Department of Defense and a border reconnaissance group, she wrote.
Another lawsuit was filed by Burk in federal court in 2021 against then-Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, several other lawmakers, and the Arizona Democratic Party over myriad election issues. The case was dismissed in less than a week, with a judge barring Burk from trying to bring forth the same claim in the future.
MORE ABOUT BURK:
Dismissal Requested Of Bizarre Lawsuit Filed Against Former Senator