State Rep. Walt Blackman
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
State Rep. Walt Blackman publicly declared that the people of the northern Arizona legislative district he shares with Sen. Wendy Rogers don’t agree with the Twitter post she made this weekend about the murder of 10 people in Buffalo by a white supremacist.
And what he said he got in return was a not-so-subtle jab from her: He said Rogers cut him off from reading any of her future Twitter posts.
“She’s able to give criticism, but she can’t take it back,” Blackman told Capitol Media Services. But he is not withdrawing what he said about her – though he never mentioned her by name – in a nearly three minute speech Tuesday on the House floor.
Rogers, for her part, said in a message to Capitol Media Services that she doesn’t recall blocking Blackman following his speech, saying that “must have been a long time ago.” Anyway, she said, Blackman has multiple accounts.
“I don’t think I have blocked all of these accounts,” she said – at least not yet. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”
The post that caused the stir is simple.
“Fed boy summer has started in Buffalo,” she wrote, a comment that was widely interpreted to mean that the shooter actually was a federal agent and that the incident was a “false flag” operation by the government.
The Senate on Monday voted to open an inquiry to determine if Rogers violated ethical rules that govern the conduct of lawmakers.
Blackman, however, felt the need to do more. On Tuesday he took to the House floor to offer an apology of sorts from residents of the district they share which runs from Tusayan through Flagstaff to Snowflake – where Blackman lives – and Payson.
It started with what Blackman said was an apology to the House and Senate “on behalf of the delegation” for what was said by one of its members.
