A far-right Arizona lawmaker sparked criticism this week when he led a prayer group speaking in tongues on the floor of the state Senate chamber—just hours before the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old law banning abortions. The gathering was organized by state Sen. Anthony Kern, who is currently under investigation for his attempt to serve as a so-called “fake elector” for then-President Donald Trump following the 2020 election. A video of the Monday gathering, filmed by an anonymous attendee and verified by The Arizona Republic, showed a small group of roughly a half-dozen attendees kneeling over the state seal in an empty chamber and gesticulating wildly. “Let it be so, Father God,” Kern says in the video. “Lord, right now, we ask thee to release the presence of the lord in the Senate chamber.” The display quickly sparked the ire of a group called Secular Arizona, which advocates for the separation of church and state—a key constitutional tenet that its executive director, Jeanne Casteen, alleged that Kern was likely in violation of. The Republican didn’t seem concerned with the backlash, however, posting to his account on X: “Looks like our prayer team stirred up some god-haters ... Not to worry though...prayer over our state at the State Senate is way more powerful.”
