The Arizona State University (ASU) Police Department on Wednesday announced that it will recommend charges against four individuals who harassed Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) in a public restroom.
The agitators, who aligned themselves with the progressive group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), confronted the lawmaker at the university and followed her into a public restroom while filming the incident.
First reported by the AZ Mirror, the police department will recommend charges for “disorderly conduct and disruption of an educational institution, which are both misdemeanors.”
“I don’t want to overstep on the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and release names, because it’s still being processed and if they choose to prosecute I don’t want to interfere with that,” said Adam Wolfe, spokesman for ASU Police Department.
Notably, the potential charges are not connected to filming Sinema and other campus members in the restroom.
After the incident, LUCHA and other progressives doubled down on their support for the unlawful actions. In a statement after the harassment, LUCHA contended that they “do what Senator Sinema doesn’t – advocate for Arizonans!”
Furthermore, Arizona attorney general candidate and Arizona State Representative Diego Rodriguez (D-Phoenix) seemingly defended left-wing activists, saying the “people of Arizona are not going simply sit back and allow their wants and needs to be ignored.”
“Yesterday’s behavior was not legitimate protest. It is unacceptable for activist organizations to instruct their members to jeopardize themselves by engaging in unlawful activities such as gaining entry to closed university buildings, disrupting learning environments, and filming students in a restroom,” Sinema said after the incident.
“In the 19 years I have been teaching at ASU, I have been committed to creating a safe and intellectually challenging environment for my students,” the senator continued. “Yesterday, that environment was breached. My students were unfairly and unlawfully victimized. This is wholly inappropriate.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Bathroom Encounter” by azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic.Â
