Arizona Tragedy: Former Senate President Has Some Explaining to Do
Former Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, the author of his state鈥檚 draconian anti-immigrant S.B. 1070 law, issued a statement last night denouncing 鈥渢he local media鈥� for attempting to tie him to , the neo-Nazi who is believed to have murdered four people earlier in the day before being shot to death himself.
What an utter crock.
After a brief nod to the 鈥渉orrific and evil鈥� nature of the killings 鈥� Ready鈥檚 girlfriend, her daughter, the daughter鈥檚 boyfriend and her 1陆-year-old daughter were his victims 鈥� Pearce launched into a self-serving diatribe. He accused the media of a 鈥渓ie鈥� that was 鈥渢old and retold,鈥� and claimed that he had distanced himself from Ready as soon as his neo-Nazi views became public. He also claimed that he worked with other Republicans to have Ready thrown out of a GOP committeeman鈥檚 seat.
听
听
Those statements are false. The fact is that Pearce was photographed and videotaped as he palled around with Ready at a June 2007 rally. Confronted at the time by a reporter, he suggested that he hardly knew Ready or his views. In fact, as the Phoenix New Times reported, Pearce was part of a small group that celebrated Ready鈥檚 baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2003 or 2004. Not only that, but a local official of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) had warned Pearce in detail of Ready鈥檚 white supremacism in October 2006. (鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for me to fathom,鈥� the ADL official told New Times, 鈥渢hat after a one-on-one meeting with me 鈥� and all the press J.T. got 鈥� that [Pearce] was unaware of what he was and what he stood for.鈥�) And Ready鈥檚 neo-Nazi views were again described in March 2007, three months before the June rally where he worked the crowd with Pearce, during a panel discussion at the state Capitol that made the local newspapers.
And those views were quite something. Ready wanted to mine the border, described Jews as 鈥減arasites鈥� and said the United States was a 鈥渨hite, European homeland.鈥� He patrolled the border with other heavily armed neo-Nazis in his U.S. Border Guard group and threatened to use deadly force against immigrants. He denounced 鈥渘------, homosexuals, mexicans, jews [sic]鈥� and was a prominent member of the , the country鈥檚 largest neo-Nazi group. He was also a violent thug who was drummed out of the Marines after two courts-martial and had a criminal record for assault. And he repeatedly ran for political office.
In fact, the same year that Pearce was warned by the ADL of Ready鈥檚 views, the neo-Nazi was running for the Mesa, Ariz., City Council. In a video supporting Ready, Pearce called Ready a 鈥渢rue patriot,鈥� according to New Times. The newspaper also reported that Ready described Pearce as a 鈥渇ather figure鈥� who had groomed him for a possible run for the Arizona state legislature. At the time of Ready鈥檚 death, he was running for sheriff of Pinal County.
In yesterday鈥檚 statement, Pearce also claimed that after 鈥渄arkness took [Ready鈥檚] life over,鈥� Pearce 鈥渨orked with others to have him removed from his local position within our Republican Party because there has never been and will never be any room in our Party or our lives for those preaching hatred.鈥�
There鈥檚 no evidence of that at all. In fact, it was three Arizona congressmen who joined forces to try to boot Ready out of his GOP precinct committeeman post in 2008. They were unsuccessful and Ready served out his term.
Pearce is best known for his sponsorship of Arizona鈥檚 punishing anti-immigrant law, much of which is held up in the courts, and became Senate president largely on the basis of that effort. (He is also remembered for, in 2006, an anti-Semitic article from the , for many years America鈥檚 leading neo-Nazi organization.) Last fall, in an unprecedented local occurrence, Pearce was recalled in a voter referendum and currently has no official post.
Although many details of yesterday鈥檚 tragic killings remain murky 鈥� including the motive 鈥� the slaughter once again highlights the ugly nature of America鈥檚 nativist movement. It was, after all, the second killing carried out by a leader of a border vigilante group. (In 2009, Shawna Forde, leader of Minuteman American Defense, joined two confederates in murdering a Latino man and his 9-year-old daughter; she was last year.) But the most important lesson of the killings may be to remind Americans of the ties of the anti-immigrant movement to opportunistic bigots like Russell Pearce.
听
