Russell “Rusty” Bowers is a politician from Arizona who is now the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.
He has represented the Republican Party’s 25th parliamentary seat since 2015. In 2019, he was elected Speaker.
He was summoned for a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee on January 6, when he declined to engage in a conspiracy to certify a slate of phony electors for Donald Trump.
Is Rusty Bowers Mormon?
Rusty Bowers served as a Mormon missionary in Mexico for two years after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Arizona House Speaker Bowers gave emotional testimony Tuesday about his determination to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the face of enormous pressure.
He placed the conservative Republican into the spotlight and the center of the national reckoning over the events of January 6, 2021.
Back in Arizona, Bowers has long been seen as a renegade, unafraid to go against the more extremist sections of his own party, sometimes with sarcastic dismissals or a cunning kind of theatrics.
Earlier this year, instead of just debating a bill that would have given the state legislature the authority to overturn future election outcomes. Bowers used an arcane procedural move to kill it: he sent it to 12 committees at once.
Bowers’ takedown was described at the time by Arizona writer Jeremy Duda as “killing the bill, slicing it up, lighting the pieces on fire, then digging up the ashes and hurling them into the ocean.
His testimony is believed to demonstrate his willingness to follow his own moral compass. He described resisting pressure from former President Donald Trump, Trump’s then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and other Republicans to remove electors for Joe Biden time and again.
Bowers claimed he received a phone call from Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, asking him again if he would decertify the election, but he refused.
“He asked whether I would sign both a letter from my state and/or support a decertification of electors, and I said no,” Bowers explained.
Bowers stated he has been targeted for opposing Trump’s proposal, even at his house. He claims that people with loudspeakers come to his area on Saturdays to accuse him of being a pedophile and pervert and to distribute literature.
Bowers said he got more than 20,000 emails, as well as tens of thousands of voicemails and messages, at his office.
Bowers and his family have faced regular demonstrations outside his house east of Phoenix, including accusations that he was a corrupt politician and a pedophile, he said Tuesday.
He said that at one time, an armed guy approached and appeared to threaten his neighbor.
Tears welled up in his eyes Tuesday as he recalled the harassment’s impact on his wife, Donetta, and their then-critically sick daughter.
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Rusty Bowers Talks About Religion And Faith During Jan 6 Hearing
Rusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House, told members of Congress on Tuesday that he has huge faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Furthermore, he worships and respects the United States Constitution.
As a result, he clarified to refuse to participate in a scheme to certify a slate of fake electors for Donald Trump following the 2020 election.
“It is a cornerstone of my religion, one of my most fundamental underlying convictions that the Constitution is divinely designed.”
“It is strange to my core being for me to do something because someone asked me to. I will not do it,” Bowers declared, holding back tears at one point.
Bowers, a Brigham Young University graduate, stated that he could not breach his oath to the Constitution while being committed to his principles.
“I don’t want to win by cheating.” “I will not toy with laws I pledged loyalty to in order to divert my deep foundational desire to follow God’s will, which I feel he prompted my conscience to accept,” Bowers stated, reading from his personal notebook.
Bowers said he requested evidence of fraud on many occasions, including the identities of those Trump’s campaign claimed voted in Arizona. But such evidence never arrived.
Rusty Bowers’s Daughter Kacey Rae Bowers
Rusty Bowers has seven children with Donetta Russell, however, their daughter, Kacey Rae Bowers died in January 2021 after suffering an illness for a long period of time.
Kacey, 42, died after a protracted fight with a chronic disease while being cared for by her 20-year-old son, the Focus reported.
According to her obituary, she died “in the loving companionship of her son Lorenzo Bowers.”
The Independent mentioned, that Rusty hailed her as a “marvelous and talented woman” in a Facebook post. He went on to call her a “strong defender and energetic advocate for her son Lorenzo, her family and religion, and the great individuals she dealt with in her counseling work.”
Kacey’s obituary stated she was a member of the Rough Riders volleyball team while attending Yavapai College. Her academic accomplishments most emphatically point to the fact that she completed her master’s degree in professional counseling.
She embarks on a career helping communities in need.