Republican lawmakers file ethics complaint against Democrat caught hiding Bibles

Three House Republicans filed a complaint Monday against a Democratic lawmaker who was caught hiding Bibles in the members-only lounge of the House of Representatives.

The complaint alleges that Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson, violated state criminal law and brought disrepute to the House of Representatives. Stahl-Hamilton apologized on the House floor the day after video footage was broadcast by Arizona’s Family showing her removing Bibles from the members’ lounge.

According to the complaint filed by Reps. Justin Heap, R-Mesa; David Marshall, R-Snowflake; and Lupe Diaz, R-Benson, Stahl-Hamilton hid Bibles on three separate occasions – on March 23, March 29 and April 10. Stahl-Hamilton explained on April 26 that she intended to demonstrate a “playful protest” of what she said was a lack of separation of church and state at the Legislature and never intended to damage the Bibles or offend other members.

Republicans didn’t view her protest as “playful” and are alleging Stahl-Hamilton committed theft and disorderly behavior and created a hostile work environment. They noted in the complaint that her apology and comments were delivered after she was caught, and the incident was broadcast to the public.

“We, and other Members of the Arizona House who cherish our faith and hold the Bible in reverence, do not see Representative Stahl Hamilton’s disrespect of scripture as playful in any regard,” Republicans wrote in the complaint. “In addition, given that her actions appear to have been carried out entirely in secret, lacking any communication of her actions to other Members or individuals, we are at a loss to see how her behavior could be characterized as a ‘commentary’ or a ‘protest’ of any kind.”

The complaint alleges Stahl-Hamilton’s actions meet the definition of theft under Arizona statute and violate federal and state law that prohibits religious harassment in the workplace. State statute defines theft as a person knowingly controlling another person’s, or government’s, property without lawful authority and with intent to deprive the other person of such property.

During her apology on the House floor on April 26, Stahl-Hamilton, an ordained Presbyterian minister, said in her apology, said she holds scriptures from the Bible “dear to her heart” and it’s what has shaped her as a person. But her respect for all faiths, including no faith, led her to make an “impulsive” decision, she said.

“I acknowledge that a conversation about the separation of church and state should’ve begun with a conversation,” she said in her apology.

Stahl-Hamilton was the representative who filed an ethics complaint against expelled Rep. Liz Harris. Harris was expelled on April 12 for inviting a speaker to make criminal allegations of elected officials and private citizens during a February joint legislative elections hearing to platform election fraud conspiracy. The House Ethics Committee not only determined Harris’ behavior was disorderly, but that she also lied to the committee during her ethics hearing.

House Minority Leader Andrés Cano, D-Tucson, told reporters last week that Democrats saw the handling of releasing the video footage to a media outlet as “political retaliation” for Harris’ expulsion.

“Representative Stahl-Hamilton’s apology speaks for itself,” Cano said in a statement texted to the Arizona Capitol Times on Tuesday. “I will add that I found out about the complaint the same way I found out about the hidden video, which is through Twitter. I continue to have serious questions about how the majority has handled a situation that could have been resolved with a phone call or email.”

The complaint also references a June 2, 2020, post from Stahl-Hamilton’s now-deleted Twitter account criticizing former President Donald Trump for taking a photo holding a Bible in front of a church.

“I’m an ordained minister. I got into politics because I was so angered by the number of Bibles on desks at the Arizona State House. Holding a Bible – or any religious text – doesn’t make you a good person. Nor should you use this (as) a political photo op. This is disgusting,” she wrote in the Tweet.

Republicans wrote in their complaint that these comments were “particularly troubling” because they demonstrate a “strong disdain” for Bibles placed on members’ desks and suggest she entered public service because of it. They also dismissed Stahl-Hamilton’s explanation of her actions being a protest due to the secrecy of her actions.

“Given that her actions appear to have been carried out entirely in secret, lacking any communication of her actions to other Members or individuals, we are at a loss to see how her behavior could be characterized as a ‘commentary’ or ‘protest’ of any kind,” the complaint states.

Just like the ethics complaint against Harris handled earlier in the session, the complaint against Stahl-Hamilton will be up to the House Ethics Committee, chaired by Rep. Joe Chaplik, R-Scottsdale, to further investigate. Chaplik is giving Stahl-Hamilton until May 8 to submit an official response to the complaint, according to letters sent to members from the House’s Rules attorneys.