Far-right Congressman Paul Gosar is one of three Arizona Republicans who will be paying $75,000 fines in retribution for their lawsuit against a Democratic elected official in the state who urged investigations into their role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol in Washington DC.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that a judge ruled against Mr Gosar, former state Rep Anthony Kern, and secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem, all Republicans, over their lawsuit targeting Charlene Fernandez, a former state representative who now works for USDA.
The trio sued Ms Fernandez in 2021 and accused her of defamation for a letter she signed along with dozens of other Democrats urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the roles of Mr Gosar, his companions and others in the January 6 attack.
On Monday, a judge ruled that the three men filed their lawsuit for the sole purposes of harassing Ms Fernandez and creating a political spectacle. In her ruling, she noted that they referenced unrelated political issues and figures including Hillary Clinton.
It “was brought for an improper purpose, having been filed against a political opponent primarily for purposes of harassment,” wrote the judge, who added that the “groundless” filing was “written for an audience other than the assigned trial court judge”.
Representatives for Mr Gosar and Mr Kern did not respond to the AP’s request for comment, while Mr Finchem told the outlet he was reviewing his options. The path forward for any appeal of the decision would be time-consuming, costly, and have only the slimmest chance of success as defamation is a difficult standard to prove against public figures.
Mr Gosar notably also has been the focus of much public scrutiny regarding his actions in the leadup to January 6, as have other Republicans in Congress in the wake of the bloody attack on Capitol Hill.
