Republican Arizona State Rep. John Gillette criticized Democratic members of Arizona’s congressional delegation Thursday following a U.S. House tribute to two men murdered outside a Tucson gay bar.
Gillette described the Aug. 31 shooting as “radical Islamic terrorism” and accused Democrats of supporting the country’s enemies in a post responding to U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton.
“Disgusting,” Gillette wrote, calling the lawmakers “a bunch of pandering idiots.” He characterized the shooting as “radical Islamic terrorism on our own soil.”
Gillette also alleged that Democrats had brought terrorists into the United States and had “Partnerships with the enemy.” His post did not cite evidence establishing a terrorist affiliation or identifying the immigration program under which the gunman originally entered the country.
Disgusting, you mourn the death of a person that is gay and call it equality. You are bunch of pandering idiots.
We mourn the death of an American citizen, killed by radical Islamic terrorism on our own soil.
The democrats invited these terrorists to the US that we were sent…
— Rep. John Gillette AZ House LD30 (@AzRepGillette) September 3, 2026
Gillette’s remarks came in response to a post from Stanton, who said he joined Rep. Adelita Grijalva, other members of Arizona’s delegation and the Congressional Equality Caucus for a moment of silence on the House floor.
Stanton said the tribute honored Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara, “who were murdered at a Tucson bar this week in a hate crime targeting the LGBTQ+ community.”
Grijalva organized the Sept. 2 observance and used her House floor remarks to call for federal gun-control legislation and measures addressing violence against LGBTQ people.
Tucson police said Siqueiros, 42, and Capara, 33, were confronted and fatally shot in the parking lot of the Venture-N bar at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 31. The suspected gunman, 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, subsequently shot himself with a 9mm handgun and died at a hospital, according to the Associated Press.
Police said Ceesay did not know either victim and never attempted to enter the bar. Investigators found him carrying a note listing several LGBTQ-associated businesses in the Tucson area.
A search of Ceesay’s residence uncovered another note indicating that he acted alone and committed a “targeted attack motivated by hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community,” police said. Officers contacted the businesses named on his list and reported no continuing threat to the community.
The publicly released police findings identify anti-LGBTQ hatred as the motive. Police have not described the shooting as an act of terrorism, identified a connection to a terrorist organization, or attributed the murders to Ceesay’s religion.
The Arizona Daily Star reported that Ceesay was born in The Gambia and had lived in Oklahoma before recently moving to Tucson. Records reviewed by the newspaper placed him in Oklahoma by 2011 and showed that he married there in 2012. The Department of Homeland Security told the newspaper it had no information to share concerning Ceesay.
Ceesay’s cousin, Muhammad Sylva, subsequently told the Daily Star that Ceesay entered the United States on a student visa around 2010 to attend college in Oklahoma, placing his initial entry during the Obama Administration. Sylva said Ceesay later became a naturalized citizen during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Sylva described Ceesay as a practicing Muslim and said he had never heard his cousin express anti-gay sentiments. He also told the newspaper that Ceesay’s religious practice was not extreme. Police said the evidence recovered from Ceesay’s home established hatred toward the LGBTQ community as his motive.
Gillette represents Legislative District 30 and chairs the Arizona House Federalism, Military Affairs and Elections Committee, according to his official legislative profile. In a state voter guide, Gillette described himself as a retired Army command sergeant major with experience in counterterrorism operations and human-intelligence collection.
The Tucson Police Department said its investigation remains ongoing and asked anyone with relevant surveillance or doorbell-camera footage to contact authorities.
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