A failed Republican candidate for office has sued a newly elected Democratic state legislator, claiming without any evidence that U.S.-born Latina Raquel Terán, who won her seat to the Arizona House of Representatives last week, isn’t a U.S. citizen.
“Just now as I was sitting at home with Eddie and EJ, putting the finishing touches on our Thank You email, my doorbell rang . . . and guess what? I've just been served!” Terán wrote in a Facebook post. “A lawsuit has been filed challenging my citizenship. I now must appear in court next week.”
This is actually the second time that Alice Novoa, “a perennial Republican candidate and conspiracy theorist” who ran for state secretary of state this year, according to AZ Central, has sued Terán. Novoa also sued in 2012, when Terán unsuccessfully ran for state office. “That lawsuit was swiftly dismissed, and Terán's attorney provided a copy of her birth certificate, according to court records.”
“In both cases,” AZ Central continues, “Novoa hasn't paid any filing fees. She requested her fees be waived because she claims she doesn't work and has no income. The court has waived or deferred more than $650 between the two cases.” A racist and a moocher, to boot.
Novoa’s birther lawsuit is a waste of the court’s time and the public’s resources (can a judge punish her already?), but Terán is being vocal in fighting it, saying that "if I don't defend myself as aggressively as I can, then this ugly tactic will be used on somebody else." Clearly, when a racist president has spent years spreading the ugly lie that is birtherism, others, like Novoa, may feel emboldened to carry on the tiki torch as well. With Novoa also targeting Terán for years now, the state should also make sure she can perform her work in safety.
"We know that we can just go to court and have this frivolous, baseless lawsuit thrown out, but it's better to speak out," Terán, continued. "I will not be intimidated by this harassment, and really this psychological warfare, designed to exclude people like me."
