Antigovernment Figures Rally Behind Arizona Attorney General Horne
Arizona Attorney General Thomas Horne has been accused by his political opponents of being a “chameleon.” But not even they could predict the company he would one day keep.
Horne, once a Democrat, is a featured guest at tonight’s “Liberty on Tap” monthly social at a Scottsdale brewing company, where he will share the stage with far-right antigovernment “Patriot” movement luminaries including Richard Mack and Ammon Bundy, the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.
Stephen Lemons at Phoenix New Times reports that Horne’s campaign team is aware of the presence of the other participants.
Ammon Bundy is best known as the Bundy son who was hit by a Taser during a skirmish outside the Bundy Ranch, an event that served to animate much of the antigovernment Patriot response that resulted in an armed standoff with federal authorities. He later served as a family spokesman on several national news broadcasts.
Mack, a former Graham County sheriff, is a longtime speaker and organizer in the antigovernment “Patriot” movement. In recent years, he has focused his efforts on organizing law enforcement officers behind a banner of Patriot beliefs through his Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.
Mack was also a major player on the scene at the Bundy Ranch standoff, where he suggested to Fox News that the strategy of the day was to have women in the front of the protest crowd. “If they’re going to start shooting, it’s going to be women that are televised all across the world getting shot by these rogue federal officers,” Mack said.
Horne, a close ally of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (who endorsed Horne again this year), has suffered a number of scandals associated with his office in recent years, including campaign-finance charges and allegations that he left the scene of a fender-bender after a lunchtime sexual tryst.
