(FiveNation.com)- Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs banned reporters from attending her swearing-in after a tumultuous election race against Republican challenger Kari Lake, according to The Daily Wire. Hobbs and her team reportedly only allowed one photographer from the Associated Press to attend the event inside the state’s Capitol while directing other personnel to watch via live stream. The media staged themselves outside.
Hobbs faced some criticism for the decision. Laurie Roberts, a columnist for The Arizona Republic said that the move to make the “public’s business private” was not a great start.
https://twitter.com/LaurieRoberts/status/1609984461143445505?s=20&t=59tXKomaz4efQ6CX0KYTzQ
Roberts continued to say that the decision to ban journalists from the event means that they cannot ask Hobbs or the other officials who are leading the state any questions about their new positions. The new Democrats that took office are Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
A viral clip showing Hobbs laughing at the Constitution as she was taking her oath sparked backlash amongst conservatives. Lake, who went to the courts to challenge her 2022 loss alleging fraud, rebuked the governor.
“This is one of the darkest moments in the history of Arizona. An illegitimate ‘Governor’ laughing in the face of our constitution,” Lake tweeted, adding that the fraud will be exposed and when justice comes Hobbs will not be laughing.
Timothy Sandefur, vice president for legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute, defended Hobbs, saying that she and her mother, who was holding the bible, were feeling emotional and Hobbs made a joke about how they were both getting choked up.
“The way they run elections in Maricopa County is worse than in banana republics around this world,” Lake told The Daily Mail after the state’s attorney general’s office reportedly opened an inquiry into the allegations of polling issues in the county, including tabulation errors.
