Anthony Kern
Anthony Kern is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 20 since January 5, 2015. In 2016, Kern sponsored legislation to eliminate "free speech zones" on college and university campuses campuses, thus allowing free expression campus-wide. In 2017, Kern sponsored a bill to make it a misdemeanor to be a passenger in an automobile without an ID. Kern lost his 2020 bid for reelection to the Arizona assembly and is seeking to regain the seat in 2022. Education. Kern earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from  Northern Arizona University. He also graduated from Glendale Community College's Law Enforcement Training Academy, but he is not a certified peace officer. Lying controversy. In 2014 Kern was fired from the El Mirage Police Department for lying to a superior about a lost tablet. His name was added to a "Brady List" of dishonest officers. As a legislator, he tried pass a law that would remove his name from the List, without informing the sponsor that it would apply to him. After it was disclosed that the bill was for Kern's benefit, House Bill 2671 was amended to  eliminate the provisions that would have helped him. 2020 lawsuit. In late 2020, Kern joined U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert and several other plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in federal district court against Vice President Mike Pence, seeking to overturn parts of the federal Electoral Count Act and prevent electoral votes for President-Elect Joe Biden from being counted in Congress. Actions after 2020 presidential election. Kern lost his last election and was scheduled to leave office on January 10, 2021. On January 6, 2021 he attended the January 6, Stop the Steal rally in Washington DC. Kern posted a video  to his Twitter account which showed his attendance of the event, and in which he stated: "I will put politics aside if I never win another election. Trump, every time I heard him on TV, it was like he was my friend. Why? Because here's the President of the United States who was sticking up for little old me." Kern was among eleven Arizona Republicans who in December 2020 claimed to be "alternate electors" and signed a fraudulent certificate of ascertainment asserting Trump had won the 2020 presidential election. Republicans in six other states also signed false certificates. He  later said that if vice president Mike Pence chose to certify the bogus certificates, which would exceed his constitutional authority, it would be "just a nice Constitutional lesson for all America to see." In April 2021 Kern was among the people helping to count and inspect ballots as part of the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit ordered by the state Senate, though the contract for the audit said that the ballot counters would be nonpartisan.