Katie Hobbs' Press Sec. Resigns Amid Backlash for 'Transphobes' Gun Post
Katie Hobbs' press secretary has resigned from her post following backlash she received for a social media post that suggested the use of violence against "transphobes."In a Wednesday statement, Hobbs' office confirmed that Josselyn Berry had stepped down from her position in the wake of the criticism, saying that "The Governor has received and accepted the resignation of the Press Secretary."Her resignation comes less than two days after she posted a picture from the 1980 movie Gloria of a woman holding a handgun in each hand, with the caption, "Us when we see transphobes." The post was made hours after three children and three staff members at a Christian elementary school in Nashville were fatally shot by a perpetrator that authorities say was transgender.On Tuesday, Berry's post was amplified by Republicans, like former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and members of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, who slammed her for being insensitive to the deadly school shooting."If a conservative made light of a mass shooting & called for more violence, they'd be personally & professionally destroyed," Lake tweeted. "But a member of Katie Hobbs' staff did just that & the media is silent.State Senator Jake Hoffman, who leads Arizona Freedom Caucus, also called for Berry's dismissal over the tweet, telling The Arizona Republic that the press secretary was "threatening to shoot people Democrats disagree with less than 12 hours after the Nashville shooting."Berry's Twitter account is currently set to private, which means that only approved followers can access her tweets.
