Arizona governor’s press secretary resigns after tweet suggesting violence against critics of trans rights
By Sydney Kashiwagi, CNN
The press secretary for Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has resigned after sending out a tweet that suggested violence against “transphobes” hours after the Nashville school shooting, the Democratic governor’s office confirmed Thursday.
On Monday morning, a shooter identified by police as Audrey Hale, 28, opened fire at The Covenant School, killing six people before being fatally shot by responding police officers. Although a motive in the shooting remains under investigation, police have referred to Hale as a “female shooter,” and at a news conference added that Hale was transgender. Hale used male pronouns on a social media profile, a police spokesperson told CNN when asked to clarify.
Hours after the incident, the now-former press secretary to Hobbs, Josselyn Berry, tweeted: “Us when we see transphobes,” accompanying an image of a woman holding a gun in each hand. Berry’s account has since been blocked from public view, but screenshots of the tweet exist.
It’s unclear if Berry was explicitly referring to the Nashville shooting. She did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
“The Governor does not condone violence in any form,” Hobbs said in a statement Wednesday. “This administration holds mutual respect at the forefront of how we engage with one another. The post by the Press Secretary is not reflective of the values of the administration. The Governor has received and accepted the resignation of the Press Secretary.”
Murphy Hebert, a spokesperson for Hobbs, confirmed to CNN that it was Berry to whom Hobbs was referring in the statement.
Hale killed three 9-year-olds as well as a custodian, a substitute teacher and the head of the school.
Hale’s parents, with whom the shooter lived, said Hale was under a doctor’s care for an “emotional disorder,” Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Tuesday.
The-CNN-Wire
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