(Zachery Schmidt, The Center Square) State Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, filed an ethics complaint against a Democratic colleague for what he calls her attempt to sabotage federal immigration enforcement in Arizona.
In his ethics complaint on Wednesday, Hoffman described the actions of state Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Glendale, as “unbecoming of an elected official and embarrassing to the entire Arizona Legislature on a state and national stage.”
The actions in question are comments Ortiz posted on social media on Aug. 5 when she alerted people that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was conducting activity. The popular social media account Libs of TikTok posted a screenshot of Ortiz’s message on X.
After Libs of TikTok posted her message, Ortiz reposted its tweet saying, “Yep. When ICE is around, I will alert my community to stay out of the area.” After using profanity, she said she was not scared of “Trump’s masked goons.”
Responding to her social media posts, Hoffman said Ortiz put the “lives of American law enforcement at risk.”
Ortiz responded by stating, “Bring it on, Jake. ICE alerts keep people away from the area since these lawless thugs are gleefully disappearing people, including US citizens and lawful residents. You try to spin a false narrative but the people know the real threat to our safety is Trump.”
In addition to Hoffman’s complaint, Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, released a press release after Ortiz’s social media posts condemning her actions.
The Democrat also replied to this, saying she will “not be intimidated.”
“I will alert our community to avoid the area when Trump’s masked thugs terrorize us all, regardless of citizenship. Trump doesn’t respect our laws nor our constitution. My duty is to keep people safe from his unconstitutional and authoritarian actions,” Ortiz explained.
Almost two weeks after Libs of TikTok posted its tweet about Ortiz, it followed up with another one discussing how the state senator and state Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, D-Phoenix, had donated to a crowdfunding campaign that was raising money for two men arrested by ICE. The state senator gave $50 while her Democratic colleague gave $100.
Libs of TikTok also posted a screenshot of De Los Santos advertising the crowdfunding campaign on social media.
Regarding Ortiz’s actions, the ethics complaint said she is “openly and brazenly advocating for lawlessness, even at the potential cost of violence against those charged with the solemn and already often dangerous duty of enforcing our nation’s laws.”
Hoffman called Ortiz’s behavior unacceptable for an elected official who is sworn to uphold the American and Arizonan constitutions.
The Republican asked the Arizona Senate Ethics Committee to investigate this matter and hold Ortiz “accountable for all violations of the law or the Senate Rules.”
As a consequence, Hoffman recommended expelling Ortiz from her position, but if there are not enough votes for this, he advocated removing the Democrat from her committees. On top of this, Hoffman said she should lose her office, parking spot, administrative staff support and unrestricted key access to the state Legislature.
In a statement to The Center Square, Ortiz said she reshared on Instagram a post about “masked, armed men” showing up “at a school in our community” to let her followers know about it.
“Now, Arizona Republicans are going to extreme levels of intimidation to block me from doing my job for the people of LD 24,” the state senator said, referring to the 24th Legislative District, which she represents. “They want police operations to happen in secret. They want Arizonans terrified to talk about what we are witnessing happening to our friends, family, and neighbors.”
Ortiz further accused the Trump administration of “violating the Constitution.” She also called the administration’s tactics “straight from the authoritarian playbook and eerily reflect the darkest moments in world history.”
“The future of our democracy depends on bravery. I choose to remain brave,” Ortiz noted.
Regarding this ethics complaint, state Senate Ethics Committee Chairwoman Shawnna Bolick, R-Deer Valley, sent a letter on Wednesday to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
In the letter, she said Hoffman’s ethics complaint “alleges that Senator Ortiz engaged in actions that may implicate federal law, including interference with federal law enforcement operations.”
Due to the nature of these allegations, Bolick said, the state ethics committee did not have “jurisdiction to enforce federal law.”
