Defender of the Elections or Provocateur: Mark Finchem Promotes Extremist John Birch Society’s Unproven Election Views
Unethically Uses Campaign Funds to Pay Court-Orders Sanctions for "Groundless" Lawsuit
Note: After this article was published, information from Mark Finchem’s 2nd quarter 2024 campaign finance report became available. Mark Finchem paid for his Mar-a- Lago Club membership with his donor monies. Additionally, 81% of contributions received were from out of state. 98.5% of expenditures were to out of state companies/people. It was also reported by someone who wishes to remain anonymous, but was close to his campaign, that Finchem had an affair with someone on his staff that resulted in his 4th divorce. This is the reason he left Tucson to run for other offices. These facts raise more questions about his character in addition to those cited in the article below.
Arizona State Senate candidate Mark Finchem’s controversial views on election integrity have been found on an extremist website which calls into question his relationship with the group. The group as been labeled as a hate group and has been accused of promoting conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic and racist views. Its members have been linked to hate crimes and violent extremism.
Finchem, who lost the 2022 election for Arizona Secretary of State, has been running a highly unethical and inflammatory campaign against Arizona State Senator Ken Bennett. He has accused Bennett of being a ‘democrat’ and has made unfounded accusations about his voting record. Bennett, a former Secretary of State, has called out Finchem’s election integrity efforts as unworkable and has refused to support extremist legislation that’s unconstitutional, legislation that’s been pushed by Finchem and the Arizona Freedom Caucus. Finchem and the caucus use defamation of character, slander and libel to discredit anyone who doesn’t embrace their ill-advised approach to legislating.
Bennett, who is a highly respected and award-winning conservative Republican recently received a 100% legislative rating from the conservative advocacy group the Center for Arizona Policy for his work to “promote and defend the foundational values of life, marriage and family, and religious freedoms.” Other notable recognitions include Senator of the Year by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Arizona Technology Council, and Arizona County School Superintendents. Bennett also received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and the Arizona Republican Assembly.
Ironically, Finchem’s ethics have been called into question when a canceled check surfaced that shows Finchem used his campaign funds to pay his court-ordered personal sanctions that resulted from one of the multiple unsuccessful election lawsuits he’s filed 2022 and 2023. His lawsuits have contested the results of the Arizona midterm elections. In his most recent one, he was ordered to pay over $48,000 for filing a “groundless” case against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. The court found that because Finchem’s allegations of misconduct and fraud weren’t supported by evidence, the election results were upheld.
In the meantime, Finchem has pushed the society’s untested ‘one day, one vote, no mail-in ballots, no machines and hand counting at the precinct level’ for several years as his solution to election fraud. Election experts say his approach, and that of the society’s, could create chaos in the election system and possibly cause a complete breakdown of the election process.
Nothing in this article is intended to imply that election integrity isn’t important and that voters shouldn’t be concerned and working hard secure elections. However, it’s important to separate fact from fiction and focus on proven sources of interference and work to pass legal, constitutional and thoughtful legislation that works.
Finchem’s panacea for alleged election fraud has been embraced by the Arizona Freedom Caucus and other leaders of the “mob rule” movement including Republican Disruptors Shelby Busch, Liz Harris, Jim O’Connor, Brian Ference, Steve Zipperman, and retired General Michael Flynn, who has endorsed Finchem. Gina Swoboda, chair of The Republican Party of Arizona has enabled their tactics. The group has used dubious Saul Alinsky Rules for Radicals to attack their fellow Republicans, weakening the party before the crucial 2024 elections. It was recently reported by Bigger Truth Media that Flynn was organizing an attempt take over the RNC Convention and encouraging the intimidation of other delegates and pressuring them to vote with his group. He has publicly stated that he’d be willing to be the Republican nominee for President if Trump were unable to run which is an odd approach to soliciting the nomination considering he wasn’t a viable candidate during the primaries. Liz Harris, another Disruptor, was expelled from the Arizona House of Representatives after she made unsubstantiated claims of wrong-doing by several public officials, lied to the ethics committee and implicated Finchem saying he introduced her to John Thaler who the source of those allegation, which he denied.
While former President Trump has endorsed Finchem, it’s important to note that the endorsement came before his ties to the society were made known along with the Flynn coup within the RNC and Finchem’s connections to the Disruptors.
According to their website, the John Birch Society has been “sounding the alarm for decades” about election fraud. Their website includes an extensive Restore Election Integrity manual that reads like a Finchem campaign fundraising speech. They leverage members’ fears with messages of accelerating doom, dangerous government expansion and overreach, erosion of freedoms and predictions that America is in dire trouble and only radical action can save the country. The messaging resonates and is a significant recruiting tool for the society and other extremist organizations. While the concerns may be real, they encourage tactics that are often illegal and have resulted in followers like the J6 protesters being jailed for years without financial support for their legal expenses or assistance for their families that has ruined their lives.
The John Birch Society had largely died out until recent years, but then a 2017 article in Politico describes its resurgence and states that their ideas once on the fringe, are increasingly commonplace in today’s GOP and espoused by friends in high places. In recent years, society members have been speaking at Republican organizations throughout the state. At a recent precinct committee meeting in Yavapai County, a guest introduced himself as a member of the society. Precinct committeemen who are associated with the society don’t support Republican principles and have made several attempts to hijack the RNC platform by developing of local platforms with statements that conflict with the RNC’s.
Mark Finchem’s association with the John Birch Society is a matter of public record and has been widely reported in the media. While Finchem has not publicly renounced his association with the society, his views and actions have been criticized by many as being harmful and divisive.
Ironically, the question of evidence related to election fraud became front and center in the race for US Senate when Kari Lake accused her opponent, Sheriff Mark Lamb, of not pursuing election fraud claims in the 2022 election. The Sheriff responded that those who were responsible for under printing ballots were fired. Lamb said that no one has been able to provide to him evidence of widespread fraud, but that he doubted President Joe Biden received as many votes as reported.
Finchem who was a police officer and a supporter of law enforcement realizes the importance of evidence. Yet he continues to chase allegations without proof and uses social media to spread misinformation. His allegations of election fraud were the likely impetus for the “alternate” Arizona electors to sign certifications claiming to be the official Arizona electors and who now face prosecution and potential jail time.
According to a June 18, 2024 article in the Arizona Republic, Finchem led a meeting across town with a group of Republican legislators to sign a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and urging Pence to accept Arizona’s “alternate” electoral votes after which Finchem carried the lawmakers’ request to Washington D.C. on Jan. 5, 2021, hand delivering the letter to Rep. Andy Biggs.
Those allegations of election fraud were made public at a 10-hour meeting at the Biltmore in Phoenix on Nov. 30, 2020 where a parade of “experts” affiliated with Flynn and facilitated by attorney Rudy Giuliani solidified the theory of ‘massive’ election fraud. Many of the same experts participated in the Arizona audit which was unable to substantiate Finchem’s claims. After an investigation, only 9 instances of fraud were confirmed by the Attorney General’s office.
Unhappy with the results of the audit, Finchem and others swung into full gear attacking the audit itself. Steve Zipperman who’s running against Finchem and Bennett, loudly proclaimed that “massive fraud” had been found based on those 9 instances. Bennett was heavily criticized by the group for disagreeing with their misinformation.
It’s interesting to note that Flynn’s America’s Future, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that provided nearly one million dollars to Cyber Ninjas, Inc., the Florida-based company hired by the Arizona Senate to conduct the audit of the 2020 election in which Finchem was a key participant. Finchem co-founded the Election Fairness Institute (EFI) with former Arizona State Representative David Stevens in 2018. An article by Beau Hodai, A Sheriff for Some, claims that one of the EFI directors is a ‘field organizer’ for The John Birch Society.
The Finchem-Busch collaboration was evident at an election conference hosted by My Pillow founder Mike Lindell’s on Aug. 16, 2023 where Finchem and Busch took the stage together and were key speakers. Busch stated, “We will take the Republican Party back,” and pointed out Maricopa County Republican Chair Craig Berland who was sitting in the front row as having taken over that county’s party, one of her allies in the “transformation of the party”. She further stated they were “fighting against the state” for election integrity. Finchem has helped lead the operation to undermine the party in Arizona, Michigan and in other states.
Dr. Robert Epstein, a renowned Harvard behavioral psychologist and senior research scientist, has spoken publicly about his concerns regarding election interference. He has testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee and has written extensively on the topic.
On Steve Bannon’s Warroom in Dec. 2023, Epstein talked about his project at techwatchproject.org to monitor Big Tech in real time. “Stopping vote manipulation by Big Tech can be done,” he said. Epstein said he had court admissible evidence in 15 states and he was able to stop Big Tech’s manipulation in the Georgia elections. “Monitoring is the key,” he said, “Don’t let them (Big Tech) fool you. Voter fraud is not the issue. They want you to think it is because they control your thinking. They don’t want you looking at them. That’s why they’re getting you obsessed with voter fraud.”
In the meantime, Finchem and others seem unconcerned about this proven interference. Perhaps because their approach to election integrity pays well. Many of the people and organizations who are promoting “fixing elections” have made lucrative careers through their Political Action Committee’s fundraising, books and speaking engagements.
Also connecting Finchem to extremist white Christian nationalist groups is Finchem’s right hand man of many years, Lyle Rapacki. Rapacki is a colorful grifter with a dubious background who’s made his living by promoting himself as a “security” expert. Investigations into his background shows that he misrepresents his education and expertise. Rapacki had been an adviser to the Arizona state legislature and brags about his connections as an adviser to Trump’s National Security Council which included Flynn. Finchem and Rapacki were involved in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge debacle when LaVoy Finicum was killed by the FBI. Rapacki claims to have been a “military adviser”.
Another interesting revelation about Finchem is that it was reported in several articles that when he retired from his law enforcement job in Michigan where his personnel file was marked “poor rating would not rehire”, according to Wikipedia. He also has been married four time and, as of a couple of years ago, is estranged from his children and has two grandchildren he’s never met. He only recently moved to Prescott, Arizona to run for the LD-1 Senate seat. He was asked to do so by the AFC in order to unseat Bennett. Other discrepancies about his background have been reported. For example, he falsely claimed to be a “legislative fellow in residence” at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law.
Note: Scott McMahon has written extensively about the “transformation” of the Republican Party from within and the Alinsky tactics being used to purge hardworking, conservative volunteers to achieve totalitarian-like control of the grassroots. Readers who wish to learn more should check out @biggertruth on X.
This information in this article about the people mentioned is a compilation of already published articles. The connection to the John Birch Society is original reporting. Here are just a few of the contributing articles to this report.
https://time.com/6203011/mark-finchem-kari-lake-arizona-election/
https://azmirror.com/briefs/mark-finchem-has-raised-nearly-10000-from-oath-keepers/
https://rumble.com/v3y9qej-robert-epstein.html?playlist_id=watch-history
https://azmirror.com/briefs/election-lies-boost-the-bottom-lines-of-prominent-republican-candidates/
https://azmirror.com/2023/08/18/arizona-features-prominently-at-lindells-election-conspiracy-forum/
https://azmirror.com/2021/06/23/documents-shed-light-on-security-at-arizona-audit/
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/03/30/who-is-lyle-rapacki/