Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told a Phoenix television station yesterday that he called for the hanging of Arizona Sen. John McCain last week because McCain “is every bit as nuts as Adolf Hitler was.”
Rhodes made the comment while sitting next to Andy Biggs, the president of the Arizona Senate, who has said that he didn’t speak up because criticizing Rhodes would have violated his “free-speech rights.”
KPNX reporter Brahm Resnik noted that Biggs’s presence raised eyebrows around the Capitol:
“That’s pretty shocking,” said Chris Herstam, a former state legislator and longtime Capitol insider. “To have the Senate president sitting there and not disagreeing causes pause.”
“People you associate with and the events you attend determine your political persona,” Herstam said.
Biggs isn’t just any politician, Herstam said. “Andy Biggs is the most powerful state legislator that we have.”
