Tipsheet

Sinema Unloads on Activists Who Chased Her into a Bathroom

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  October 05, 2021 7:00 AM

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema blasted far-left activists who harassed her at Arizona State University and chased her into a bathroom, calling their actions “illegitimate protest.”

While she said she supports the First Amendment rights of those who criticize her policy decisions and will engage with Arizonans who have different points of view, what happened when the activists confronted her at ASU on Build Back Better and immigration policy was “unacceptable,” she said.

"It is unacceptable for activist organizations to instruct their members to jeopardize themselves by engaging in unlawful activities such as gaining entry to closed university buildings, disrupting learning environments, and filming students in a restroom," Sinema said in a statement on Monday.

"In the 19 years I have been teaching at ASU, I have been committed to creating a safe and intellectually challenging environment for my students," the senator continued. "Yesterday, that environment was breached. My students were unfairly and unlawfully victimized. This is wholly inappropriate."

She concluded: "It is the duty of elected leaders to avoid fostering an environment in which honestly-held policy disagreements serve as the basis for vitriol -- raising the temperature in political rhetoric and creating a permission structure for unacceptable behavior."

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Both Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin have been harassed in recent days over their opposition to the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The Arizona Democrat also faced activists at the airport Monday and during her flight.