Two men were arrested Thursday morning for trespassing during a protest in front of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s Tucson office.
There were also arrests during a protest at Flake’s Phoenix office.
The Tucson incidents started at about 9 a.m. when Flake’s staffers called deputies saying they wanted a protester who mentioned last month’s shooting of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise to be barred from the office at 6840 N. Oracle Road.
The first man arrested, Mark Prichard, 59, was apprehended immediately after he stepped onto the property after a deputy told him he would be trespassing if did so, Deputy Cody Gress said in a Pima County Sheriff’s Department news release.
Later, Patrick Diehl, 70, was arrested when deputies say he tried to force his way into the office after a staffer opened the door to give pamphlets to the protesters on how to contact Flake.
Both men in Tucson face low-level misdemeanor charges.
Flake spokesman Jason Samuels said Prichard asked a staffer in the Tucson office if he knew how liberals “are going to solve the Republican problem.” When the staffer said no, the man reportedly said “They are going to get better aim. That last guy tried, but he needed better aim. We will get better aim,” the Associated Press reported.
At the Phoenix office, police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said protesters began assembling early Thursday and were monitored by police. The group eventually gathered at the entrance to the complex and the property manager asked them to leave.
Most did, but Howard said four men and a woman refused to comply and were arrested for trespassing.
The rest of the group continued to protest on the public sidewalk.
Samuels noted that on Wednesday a group of about 20 disabled protesters spent the day in the lobby of Flake’s Phoenix office, “so protests are something we’ve shown we are prepared to accommodate.”
Flake is in the state during this week’s congressional recess. He was spending time with his family following last week’s death of his father, Dean Flake, and appeared at a religious-freedom event in Utah on Thursday.
The first-term Republican up for re-election next year is being fiercely pressured by opponents of the GOP’s health-care bill, with groups like AARP running ads urging him not to back the legislation. Gov. Doug Ducey is also urging Flake and Sen. John McCain to soften the Medicaid changes made by the bill.
Flake is a key vote for the health-care repeal bill but hasn’t indicated if he will support it. On Thursday, the senator’s staff passed out a note from him to those protesting.
“While I have not yet seen a revised version of the bill, I can say my decision will be based on how it balances two principles,” the note said. “The first is that the legislation needs to ensure that those who currently have coverage do not have the rug pulled out from under them. The second is that the Senate must agree on a solution that is fiscally sustainable. I would like to personally thank you all for coming in and sharing your stories, and I will be sure to keep your comments in mind as I evaluate the bill.”
The news release did not specify the group or the issue the two men were protesting, but Flake’s office has been the frequent target of organizations opposed to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Earlier this week a news release announced a planned sit-in at Flake’s Tucson office that claimed it would include members of several groups, including: Our Revolution, #AllOfUs, Democracy Spring, Democratic Socialists of America, The People’s Consortium, Progressive Democrats of America, ResistHere.org, Ultraviolet and Working Families Party.
The protest, the release said, was part of a 21-state effort.
