Rusty Bowers, a Republican spokesman for Arizona, gave an emotional testimony Tuesday on the impact his role in opposing his state’s repeal scheme has had on him and his family, describing “disturbing” protests outside his home and at one point, reading a passage from his personal diary for friends who had turned against him.
Speaking at the House of Representatives’ fourth public hearing, Bowers erupted as he discussed the impact of the protests in this house on his wife and daughter, who was at home, seriously ill at the time and “upset by what was happening outside.” “
“The new model or model in our lives is to worry about what will happen on Saturday because different groups are coming to us,” Bowers said. “They had trucks with video panels with a video of me, declaring me a pedophile, a pervert and a corrupt politician.
In one case, Bowers said, protesters included a gunman who appears to be linked to the far-right Three Percent extremist group.
“There was a gentleman who had three bars on his chest and had a gun and was threatening my neighbor,” Bowers said.
Earlier, reading a December 2020 entry he made in his personal diary, Bowers became emotional as he described the loss of friends as a result of his position and how his faith helped him make decisions.
“It’s painful to have friends who have helped me so much turn against me with such malice,” Bowers said.
“In people’s eyes, I may not hold the right views or act on their vision or beliefs, but I do not accept the current situation lightly, cowardly or vindictively. I don’t want you to be a winner by deception, “he said.
Hear Bowers read the diary entry in his December 2020 diary amid Trump’s campaign of pressure:
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