Arizona Republican Party asks followers if they're willing to die to overturn election results
The Arizona Republican Party asked its Twitter followers this week if they would be "willing" to die to overturn President Trump's election loss.
On Monday, an activist associated with the "Stop the Steal" movement, which promotes baseless arguments that Democrats "stole" the election, tweeted, "I am willing to give my life for this fight."
In response, the official account for the Arizona branch of the GOP quote tweeted the sentiment, adding, "He is. Are you?"
He is. Are you? https://t.co/OY8qxNMPxm
— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) December 8, 2020
Last week, Arizona certified President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of its 11 electoral votes. Trump's team has lost several lawsuits in the state after failing to provide evidence of voter fraud, but continues to dispute the results.
Despite Republican Governor Doug Ducey's support of the state's election process, the Arizona GOP account has continued its unwavering efforts to fight the election outcome, tweeting Tuesday, "Live a life of service to a cause greater than yourself."
In another tweet, which has since been deleted, the party shared a clip from the 2008 film "Rambo" with title character saying, "This is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something."
In response to a CBS News inquiry regarding both tweets, a spokesperson for the Arizona GOP said that the party does not condone violence.
"The Republican Party of Arizona condemns all forms of violence in the strongest terms," the spokesperson said. "Fictional movie scenes should be weighed in their proper context."
The movie is the fourth entry in the action franchise centered on Vietnam War veteran John Rambo, played by Sylvester Stallone. In the film, Rambo works with a team of mercenaries to rescue a group of missionaries taken hostage by soldiers from the Burmese military junta.
Following the series of tweets, the party was immediately criticized for appearing to encourage what many called "political violence."
I’ve been saying since 11/4 that these unfounded detached from reality conspiracy theories and those fueling them are dangerous and here we are. https://t.co/vO6EOIcQCe
— Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) December 8, 2020
"I've been saying since 11/4 that these unfounded detached from reality conspiracy theories and those fueling them are dangerous and here we are," Arizona's Secretary of State Katie Hobbs tweeted Tuesday in response. Hobbs, a Democrat, has said she has received threats of violence following the election.
"You're asking people to die for this conspiracy theory? What in the living hell is wrong with you people?" tweeted State Senator Martín Quezada, a Democrat.
"'Die for Trump' is the official 'AZ GOP' twitter message? Really guys? Really?" Meghan McCain, the daughter of late Arizona senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain tweeted.
"Our Governor needs to put a stop to this dangerous behavior now. This is out of control," tweeted State Senator Victoria Steele, a Democrat. Ducey did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment.