Landmark Gilbert water tower/Screengrab YouTube
By Joshua Bowling |Arizona Republic
Independent investigators say they found no evidence of Gilbert employees crossing a line with politics in the workplace or using town resources to support political agendas.
The investigation’s results come months after conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch in August alleged town employees were using town resources to promote “the political Marxist agenda of Black Lives Matters (sic) … as well as Democrat Party elected officials.” Town Manager Patrick Banger commissioned the outside investigation into the allegations.
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As evidence, Judicial Watch offered screenshots of:
A town employee using her personal Twitter account to thank the town’s police department for meeting with protesters in 2020.
A post on the town’s Instagram account thanking protesters for being peaceful.
A post on the town’s Instagram showing the iconic Gilbert water tower without its lights on, as part of the #blackouttuesday trend to show solidarity with Black people during the summer of 2020.
A post on the town’s Instagram hopping on the viral meme of Sen. Bernie Sanders in his winter weather getup. The post superimposed him in downtown Gilbert.
