PHOENIX, AZ – Josselyn Berry, a press secretary for Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, officially resigned from her post Wednesday evening after igniting a firestorm of controversy by posting a tweet that appeared to encourage gun violence against “transphobes” mere hours after a transgender shooter horrifically killed six people at a Nashville, Tennessee elementary school.
On Monday morning, Audrey Hale, 28 – who was born a biological female but who identified as a transgender male – went on a deadly shooting spree at Covenant School, a private Christian institution for students up to 6th grade; Hale cold-bloodedly murdered three 9-year-old children and three adults before responding police officers shot and killed her.
Berry posted the offending tweet less than 12 hours after the shooting took place, which included an image from the 1980 movie “Gloria” depicting actress Gena Rowlands pointing two handguns towards the camera, along with a caption that read, “Us when we see transphobes.”
In an earlier tweet in the same thread, Berry said “if you work in the progressive community and are transphobic, you’re not progressive. Period. End of Story. It’s not hard to understand but you’re [sic] bigotry masquerading as feminism absolutely is.”
Berry’s tweet elected waves of shock and disgust throughout Arizona and across the country, with GOP lawmakers from the Arizona Freedom Caucus calling her actions “vile” and demanding her immediate termination.
Twitter responded by removing Berry’s tweet, citing a violation of their rules on violence; the account was later set to “private.”
Hobbs’ office confirmed that Barry resigned from her post Wednesday night and condemned the violent rhetoric of the now-unemployed press secretary via a statement sent out Thursday morning.
“The Governor does not condone violence in any form,” the statement read. “This administration holds mutual respect at the forefront of how we engage with one another. The post by the Press Secretary is not reflective of the values of the administration. The Governor has received and accepted the resignation of the Press Secretary.”
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