by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, Arizona Mirror
May 6, 2024
A Glendale Republican lawmaker is no longer allowed to access legislative broadcast equipment after the Arizona Mirror reported on May 3 that he used the Senate’s broadcast studio to appear on a far-right talk show last week with a host who has declared Adolf Hitler a “hero.”
On May 1, Sen. Anthony Kern appeared on ”The Stew Peters Show” to discuss a Drag Story Hour that was hosted the day before in a basement meeting room in the Arizona House of Representatives. Kern joined the show live on video from the Arizona Senate studio.
The April 30 drag event in the House was hosted by Rep. Lorena Austin, D-Mesa, the nation’s first nonbinary Chicane legislator. When Republicans, who have spent the last several years crusading against drag and the LGBTQ community, learned about the event, it sparked an outcry.
Kern was quick to demonize the event, and he specifically called out House Speaker Ben Toma, his GOP primary opponent for Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District, for allowing the event to take place.
In a statement to 12News reporter Brahm Resnik on Monday, a spokeswoman for Senate President Warren Petersen said that he disapproved of how Kern used taxpayer-funded legislative resources.
“The Senate President does not approve of how the Senator chose to use the legislative broadcast resource last week, as a result, his privileges to use those resources for future interviews has been revoked,” the statement said.
Petersen confirmed the authenticity of the statement to the Mirror, but declined to comment further. Kern did not respond to a request for comment.
On Peters’ show, Kern said he thought taxpayers would be outraged at the drag story hour event for legislators and their staff.
“I said, ‘Hey, Arizona, this is where your tax dollars are going,’” Kern told Peters, appearing from the legislative broadcast facility on the Senate’s first floor, which is used by lawmakers of both parties to film videos.
Peters, a conspiracy theorist, has been increasingly showcasing antisemitism on his social media profiles and on his show. In promotional material, Peters has praised the mass book burning conducted by the Nazis in the lead up to World War II.
“They did exactly what reasonable people would do if given the opportunity,” Peters said of the Nazi book burnings. The video featured a montage of antisemitic propaganda created by Nazi Germany.
Peters praised Kern and made the false claim that the drag event in the House included children — none were present — calling the drag king that spoke to the small group Tuesday a “mentally ill satanic pedophile.” The event did not include children and Kern did not push back on any of Peters’ claims.
During the interview, Kern said that churches and Christians need to “rise up” as a remedy to fix the country’s problems.
“It is time for battle. This is our 1776 moment…We have to rise up and get our country back,” Kern said, adding that he believed God appointed Donald Trump to be president.
Kern, who was indicted last month by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for his role in Donald Trump’s fake elector scheme, sparked controversy in April when he invited members of his church to pray and speak in tongues on the Senate floor ahead of a key procedural vote on repealing Arizona’s Civil War-era abortion ban.
Kern, who was present amid the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, said that God was “raising up” people like himself, Peters and Trump. He encouraged Peters’ viewers to get involved and for churches to “rise up.”
Peters has called for violence at the U.S.-Mexico border, used racist terminology and has spoken at a white nationalist conference.
Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.
