GREAT FALLS — State Republican leaders are calling for the resignation of Rodney Garcia, a member of the Montana House of Representatives, following comments he made earlier this month.
Garcia said, “Socialists should go to prison, or, be shot.”
Garcia, who issued an apology for the comments, has decided he will not resign from his House seat, representing Billings' south-side through the term, and plans to run for the Montana Senate.
House District 21 Representative Ed Buttrey of Great Falls says Garcia's decision to stay on is entirely his, but noted: “I think that leadership was completely within their rights to ask for the resignation and Rodney was within his rights to say, 'No, I'm going to run for the Senate and let the voters make the decision."
He also added that Montana has more important things to be focusing on: “It's unfortunate that this is what we are dealing with now. We have a lot of other issues - we've got our economy, we've got our revenues, we've got healthcare, we've got a tremendous drug addiction problem in Montana, and to have to deal with this is just unfortunate.”
House District 24 Representative Barbara Bessette says she hopes that Garcia learns a lesson from this: “I do believe that inciting any kind of violence against anybody, if it's someone you disagree with, sometimes agree with, however politically you align, politically you don't align, is alarming and should not be done.”
Both Buttrey and Bessette said that however a person feels about the issue, it's important to get out and vote.
(FEBRUARY 17, 2020) Rodney Garcia, a state lawmaker from Billings, said on Monday that he will not resign his seat in the Montana House of Representatives.
The House District 52 representative confirmed his position in a letter to MTN News on Monday.
Republican leaders in the Montana House asked Garcia to resign after comments earlier this month where he said socialists should “go to prison” or be shot.
In the letter, Garcia said his comments were a “well-received joke.”
Garcia will be leaving his House seat at the end of the term to try for a state Senate nomination, filing to run against incumbent Margie MacDonald in Senate District 46.
In an interview Monday, Garcia said he didn’t regret making the comments. “You know why? I’m getting more positive response from people saying, ‘Thank you. You know, we didn’t know our country was at risk,’" Garcia said. "I improperly made a statement saying - ‘Either we can shoot them, or put him in prison.’ And I have a right to say what I want, according to the Constitution...freedom of speech. And so I said that. But you know, everyone laughed so loud, I couldn’t even think of what I was saying.”
Montana Speaker of the House Greg Hertz released the following statement on Garcia's refusal to resign: "While we are disappointed by Rep. Garcia’s refusal to do the right thing and resign, the fact is he is a lame duck legislator and the cost of a special session is simply too great. The voters will now decide his fate in the June primary."
