Jay Lawrence pleads Ignorance about QAnon

Most people in the world of politics know that the group QAnon is populated with people that believe in many outlandish far-out conspiracy theories.

Legislative District 23 State Representative Jay Lawrence is not one of them.

The far-right state legislator, no stranger to controversy, tweeted on July 4, 2020 “Qanon Patriotic Americans who support President Trump.”

Word quickly reached Mr. Lawrence that his tweet was the latest in a series of controversial remarks he has made in his political career. He issued an apology for his tweet on July 5, 2020, writing:

“I apologize for my Qanon reference yesterday… I knew practically nothing about them and was shown some stuff that made it seem like they were being targeted just for supporting our President. On the basis of that, I thought it would be good to show them some support. Needless to say, my short post lit up with comments and screenshots galore from some of the stuff they post. Now I think half of them are rather nuts. I do miss the simpler days when someone could say something patriotic and you could applaud without having to first make sure they don’t also think that Oprah and Tom Hanks secretly control the world. Oh well, lesson learned and yet another reason to be cautious before deciding on and sharing an opinion.”

It is astounding that Mr. Lawrence, a person active in political circles, has not heard QAnon, a fringe group whose unreal beliefs include:

• Celebrities and certain politicians are involved in a child sex ring.
• The Deep State is out to destroy Donald Trump.
• There are conspiracies surrounding all mass shootings and election results.
• 5G networks are spreading the Coronavirus.

Eric Kurland, the Democratic candidate looking to defeat Mr. Lawrence this November, responded to a request to comment from Blog for Arizona and stated:

“It is always a great disappointment when the good people of LD23 are held up for ridicule because of Representative Lawrence’s actions. You’d think it wouldn’t shock anyone because it happens so often but you’d be wrong. The good news is that the choice in November couldn’t be clearer and this reign of error will soon end with this upcoming election.”

Deedra Hill Abboud, a candidate for District Two of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and LD 23 resident posted on social media that Lawrence’s tweet and the apology was:

“Somewhere between #OutOfTouch and #Incompetent to serve our district and state. Or just plain scary.”

Over the ten months, Jay Lawrence has:

• said that black and brown communities were filled with gun-carrying gangs.
• proposed that school safety grant funds should primarily go to arming teachers and school security officers instead of counselors and social workers.
• called for the banning of refugee populations in Arizona.

Based on his track record, the people of LD 23 should really wonder if Mr. Lawrence is, like Ms. Hill Abboud said, either “Somewhere between #OutOfTouch and #Incompetent to serve our district and state. Or just plain scary.”

Voters will have a chance to decide for themselves in the Republican Primary in 29 days on August 4, or if necessary, November 3, 2020.

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