Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ press secretary resigned on Tuesday after an allegedly threatening tweet that caused an uproar online.
Josselyn Berry tweeted an image of a woman pointing two handguns with the caption “Us when we see transphobes.”
The tweet was made on Monday, March 27, the same day Audrey Hale, who reportedly identified as transgender, shot and killed six people at a private Christian school in Nashville, TN.
“The left feels emboldened to be very open about their hatred of the right,” Roger Shafer, senior advisor for the Dallas Young Republicans, told The Dallas Express. “This demonization of people they disagree with is how mass violence starts.”
Murphy Hebert, Hobbs’ director of communications, told The Washington Post the governor asked Berry to resign following backlash over the tweet.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk accused Berry of “advocating for violence against those who oppose the radical Trans agenda.”
“If a conservative made light of a mass shooting & called for more violence, they’d be personally and professionally destroyed,” tweeted Kari Lake, a Republican who ran for governor of Arizona last year and lost to Hobbs.
“But a member of Katie Hobbs’ staff did just that & the media is silent,” Lake continued. “We don’t partake in cancel culture — but the media’s bias has never been clearer.”
Daniel Scarpinato, former chief of staff to the previous Arizona governor, Doug Ducey, wrote, “JUST IMAGINE if this was the spokesperson for a Republican Governor.”
Hobbs’ office published a news release, stating, “The Governor does not condone violence in any form. 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 statement continued. “The Governor has received and accepted the resignation of the Press Secretary.”
Berry’s Twitter account is now private.
Meanwhile, a Michigan professor was suspended for allegedly voicing support for the murder of speakers brought to campus by “right-wing groups.”
“Although I do not advocate violating federal and state criminal codes, I think it is far more admirable to kill a racist, homophobic, or transphobic speaker than it is to shout them out,” former Wayne State professor Steven Shaviro wrote on his personal Facebook page on Monday.
A screenshot of the entire now-deleted post can be found here.
Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson was made aware of the post, and Shaviro was suspended.
“We have on many occasions defended the right of free speech guaranteed by the Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but we feel this post far exceeds the bounds of reasonable or protected speech,” Wilson wrote in an email to students, per the New York Post.
Wilson said Shaviro’s comments were “at best, morally reprehensible and, at worst, criminal.” He added that the university directed law enforcement to the post for further investigation.