Jan. 6 witness Rusty Bowers says Constitution ‘hanging by a thread’ after election loss

Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R), who testified before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, said that the Constitution is “hanging by a thread” after he lost his bid for a state Senate seat.

Bowers in an interview with The Guardian described his phone conversations with former President Trump and Trump’s campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani in the aftermath of the 2020 election, adding that the Republican Party has embraced “emotional violence.” 

“The Constitution is hanging by a thread,” Bowers told The Guardian. “The funny thing is, I always thought it would be the other guys. And it’s my side. That just rips at my heart: that we would be the people who would surrender the constitution in order to win an election. That just blows my mind.”

Bowers also noted that he had to confront Trump supporters protesting in front of his home just days before the Capitol insurrection, referring to those individuals as “bullies.” 

“I never had the thought of giving up,” Bowers added. “No way. I don’t like bullies. That’s one constant in my life: I. Do. Not. Like. Bullies.”

Bowers told the Jan. 6 panel in June that Giuliani never produced hard evidence of election fraud in Arizona, and he refuted Trump’s claims that he said the former president had won the state and the election was rigged. 

He lost his primary bid for a state Senate seat earlier this month, falling to Arizona state Sen. David Farnsworth (R), who was publicly backed by Trump. 

Bowers also told The Guardian that the Republican Party in Arizona has lost its way, saying it is now “all emotional” and “all revenge.” 

“They’ve invented a new way. It’s a party that doesn’t have any thought. It’s all emotional, it’s all revenge,” Bowers said. “It’s all anger. That’s all it is.”