Arizona election denier accused of assault at Phoenix church

A fellow Republican accused former Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward of assault during the state party’s January meeting at a Phoenix church.

According to a police report obtained by the Arizona Mirror, Ward is accused of hitting a woman who criticized Ward’s involvement at the meeting, as she was no longer the party chair.

“I saw (Ward) turn back and lean over the first chair on her right and hit a woman in black with a yellow piece of paper,” a Phoenix police officer wrote in the report after viewing security camera footage from the Dream City Church where the event was being held. “She had the paper in her right hand and hit the woman in her right shoulder. It looked to be a fairly light tap on the video.”

The annual meeting was full of contentious moments as state committee members voted to elect Gina Swoboda to lead the party only days after the former chairman, Jeff DeWitt, resigned amid allegations of bribery by failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. Ward was reported to have cut in line and taken a microphone from one attendee’s hand.

Both Ward and the woman involved have different recollections of the incident.

Ward did not return messages seeking comment.

Laura Schafer, the victim who told police she wants to pursue assault charges, said as Ward walked past her she mentioned to her husband that Ward is no longer the chair, leading to Ward striking her “on the right side of her head and shoulder with both a fist and paper one time.”

Additional witnesses, including Schafer’s husband and Vera Gebran, a former candidate for the legislature, said they’d testify to seeing Ward hit the woman.

Ward told police that she had just finished speaking at the microphone when “a crazy lady started yelling at her” that she was no longer the party chair.

Ward said she “tapped her on the shoulder with a paper” she was holding and that no part of her hand or fist hit the woman. Ward told police that the “tap” was to “emphasize her point” that she was glad she is no longer the chair and denied assaulting the woman.

Police did not see any injuries on Schafer, and she did not report being injured.

The report says that police submitted the report to the Phoenix City Prosecutor’s Office for consideration of assault charges.

Ward was kept in an “isolated part of the church” away from Schafer in order to cast her vote, the report states.

Ward is also facing possible prosecution for her role as a fake elector in the 2020 election.