Shelby Busch, vice chairwoman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee in Arizona, threatened to lynch the county’s top election official.
In the video, Bush tells Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, “If you come into this room, I’m going to lynch you.”
Richter, who is running for re-election, posted the video on social platform X on Monday.
He noted that Busch was the Maricopa County Republican Party’s 2023 Volunteer of the Year and an advisor to Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake.
“That’s an interesting word choice. It’s not ‘I’m going to kick his ass’ or ‘I’m going to kill him,’” Richer said. “But it’s ‘lynch.’ Given the historical context, why does that word roll off her tongue?”
In the video, Bush selected his audience and noted that there would be unity if the man, a “good Christian,” potentially ran for the county recorder position. She contrasted him with Richer, who was Jewish and a Republican.
“We can work with that, right?” she said. “That’s what unity is. It means, ‘We’re going to shake hands and agree to run a good Christian foundation campaign and treat each other well and get through this together.’ That’s unity.”
Her remarks drew applause from the audience. She then criticized Richer, making her laugh.
Bush continued, “I do not stand in solidarity with those who do not believe in the principles we believe in and the American cause on which this country was founded.” “So I want to make that clear when I talk about what unification means.”
Bush’s comments were made at a March campaign event for Republican Jeron Davidson, who is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The event was titled “Patriots United for Victory.”
Richer questioned the audience’s reaction in his post. He said no one yelled at her in protest of Bush’s threats or told her she had gone too far.
“This is not good for your health. And it is not responsible. And we shouldn’t want that as part of the Republican Party,” he wrote.
Richer told Politico that he became aware of the video over the weekend and has not heard any publicity from Busch since it was posted.
“The current political landscape is unfortunate. “Her comments are deeply troubling, especially her use of the word ‘lynching,’ which carries historical weight and pain,” Richer said in a statement to the Hill. “I look forward to going,” he said. “Tax rates and government spending do not pose a nefarious threat to each other.”
Davidson responded to Richer’s post, defending Busch, saying he was his friend and “not racist at all.” He called Richer’s post “a bias aimed at disrupting the way we conduct our corrupt elections.”
The Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix said in a joint statement they were appalled by “these vile comments.” They called on Bush to retract his comments and apologize to Richter and the Maricopa County Republican Committee to “oppose such rhetoric,” the Arizona Republic reported.
Arizona, a battleground state won by President Biden in the last election, faces threats to election workers as Republicans raise questions about the state’s election security after former President Trump and his allies attempted to overturn the results of Biden’s narrow victory. We have confirmed that this occurs to a significant extent. situation.
Busch is a member of the We the People AZ Alliance, a conservative group that falsely claims the election was stolen from Trump.
The Hill reached out to the Maricopa County Republican Committee for comment.
This story was updated at 6:56 p.m.
