Charlene Fernandez/usda.gov
By Mary Jo Pitzl | Arizona Republic
A letter from Arizona Democrats asking federal officials to investigate three politicians’ involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a “premeditated attack” that qualifies as defamation, a county judge was told Wednesday.
While dozens of Democrats signed the letter, only one was sued. Attorneys for the defendant, former state lawmaker Charlene Fernandez, said the judge should throw out the lawsuit, arguing the letter and its contents are protected by state law and the First Amendment.
Yuma County Superior Court Judge Levi Gunderson said he will make a decision on the dismissal request within the next 60 days. U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, state Rep. Mark Finchem and former state lawmaker Anthony Kern filed the case last year.
The three, all Republicans, charge that Fernandez, a Yuma Democrat and at the time the assistant minority leader in the Arizona House of Representatives, defamed them in January 2021.
