For Immediate Release
Friday, October 14, 2022
Contact: Morgan Dick, mdick@azdem.org
Arizona Democratic Party Releases Second Wave of Television Ads in Secretary of State Race
PHOENIX – The Arizona Democratic Party released its second wave of television advertisements today, in its ongoing campaign to preserve Arizona’s democracy and the integrity of its elections. Both advertisements focus on Mark Finchem’s involvement in the January 6th insurrection, where Donald Trump’s supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and keep him in power.
Finchem, who is the Republican nominee for Arizona Secretary of State, is running against former Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes in a bid to become the state’s chief election officer. If elected, he would have considerable sway over how voting is conducted.
“Mark Finchem is dangerous and potentially violent. Until he answers for his role on January 6th, we can barely trust him to wander our communities unsupervised, let alone put him in a position to oversee our elections,” said ADP spokesperson Morgan Dick. “Arizona voters have the chance to stop his lies and conspiracies at the ballot box and defend our democracy. Adrian Fontes is the better choice for Secretary of State. He’s a Marine Corp veteran, former prosecutor, and former county recorder who will protect our right.”
In 2020, Finchem helped organize the movement that led to the assault on the Capitol, contributing to the deaths of five police officers, the injuries of roughly 114 U.S. Capitol Police officers, and the 1,000 assaults on federal officers. He is also a self-proclaimed member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group that federal prosecutors believe stockpiled firearms and other weapons in preparations of the attack. In connection with the assault, members of the Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy.
For his involvement in the insurrection, Finchem has been subpoenaed and interviewed by the January 6th congressional committee and forced to turn over materials to the Department of Justice. He has yet to explain the details of those interviews, release the materials he provided to federal officials, or release the communications he had with rally organizers and members of Congress.
Finchem claims it is an “outright lie” that law enforcement officers died as a result of the assault on the Capitol and is campaigning on the idea of breaking up the FBI.
“I was Sheriff of Navajo County for 10 years. I believe as part of my oath and as part of my duty to warn Arizonans about Mark Finchem,” says former Navajo County Sheriff K.C. Clark in the first ad. “Finchem proclaims to be an Oath Keeper. The Oath Keepers were attacking police officers at the Capitol on January 6th. Officers ultimately died. As a law enforcement officer, it’s disgusting to me. Mark Finchem took the same oath I did. I believe he’s desecrated that oath. Election deniers should not be in charge of our elections. Mark Finchem is absolutely the wrong guy for Secretary of State.”
“I was a propagandist for the Oath Keepers. They’re the ones that stormed the Capitol. It was a violent insurrection. They brought explosives, military grade weapons. Violence is absolutely a foundation,” says Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesman for the militia group in the second ad. “Mark Finchem is a member of the Oath Keepers. Finchem led the effort to delegitimize the votes in Arizona. The guy is an election denier. He’s made it very clear that the rule of law doesn’t matter. It would be insane to put him in charge of tallying the votes. That is a very very dangerous proposition.”
FInchem’s membership with the Oath Keepers is not his only association with violent separatists and extremists. He defended the white supremacists who held a violent rally in Charlottesville and worked as coordinator for an organization that supported the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon. He is working with a vigilante group of sheriffs from around the country to intimidate voters under the guise of preserving election integrity. And, it was also reported that he keeps a ‘Treason Watch List’ and has encouraged his social media followers to stockpile ammunition.
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