House Members send letter to Ethics Committee regarding Representative Castro's attempt to suppress First Amendment rights

GILBERT, AZ – Today, Congressman Biggs and six of his Republican colleagues sent a letter to the House Ethics Committee asking the committee to look into Representative Joaquin Castro for suppressing the First Amendment rights of Americans. Posting a list of private citizens along with their workplaces, Congressman Castro accused them of fueling hate, saying it was "sad to see so many San Antonians who had donated the maximum to Trump's campaign." Congressman Biggs issued the following statement:

Rule XXIII of the Code of Official Conduct states that a Member shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House. We are asking the Ethics Committee to answer a simple question: Is an attempt to suppress protected First Amendment activity of American citizens conduct that reflects creditably on the House? It doesn't matter that the information could be obtained from public sources. There is no doubt about Congressman Castro's intent in posting a list of private citizens with their places of employment and telling his supporters that those individuals were responsible for fueling hate. It is clearly an attempt to intimidate or publicly shame in order to cause people to disassociate themselves from President Trump and infringe on their free speech and free association rights. I believe that is inconsistent with his oath of office and reflects poorly on the House. I would like to know what the Ethics Committee thinks.

Congressman Andy Biggs is a second-term Representative from Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, representing parts of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek. Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology committees. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Gilbert.