A social media account used by Tucson education advocate and Democratic state Senate candidate Rocque Perez posted violent political rhetoric, online archives show.
“So kill them, do your duty baby girl,” was the message sent in 2020 to a user of who was complaining about conservative household members.
鈥淪omeone throw this b---- off the capitol building roof please,鈥 Perez's account responded to a post by President Donald Trump鈥檚 daughter Ivanka the same year.
Those and similar messages posted on an account that belongs to Perez are preserved on after being deleted.
Perez
Other examples include a message encouraging violence toward a conservative activist: "How has she not gotten beat yet? like... hath no one the bravery to literally hurt her cause... ??" and wondering if he should "end" a "vapid white girl" in a Zoom class meeting with him.
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Perez didn鈥檛 acknowledge he wrote any of the posts in a phone interview with The Arizona Republic, saying they were "material put out without my consent."
The conservative news site California Globe first published the posts in an October article. The Republic corroborated their existence on . The news site also accused Perez of previously running a pornographic OnlyFans account, which he denied.
Who is Rocque Perez?
Perez hopes to beat current state Rep. Alma Hernandez in July鈥檚 primary election for the open Senate seat in Tucson鈥檚 Democrat-heavy Legislative District 20.
Perez graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in political science in 2022. He briefly served last year as an appointed Tucson city council member and currently serves as executive director for the Southern Arizona Education Council, an organization that advises Tucson-area schools and was formerly known as the Metropolitan Education Commission.
He told The Republic he wouldn鈥檛 be questioned about the social media posts 鈥渋f this was any other 19, 20-year-old at the time.鈥 He also said he was 鈥渃ognizant鈥 before he ran for office that doing so would likely mean the posts would be discussed publicly.
Now 27, he was 20 and 21 when the posts appeared and was working at the time in public relations at the University of Arizona. Mitch Zak, the university's spokesperson, declined comment when asked if other employees knew about the posts at the time. He provided an employment history showing Perez was a student worker employed in the office of Multicultural Advancement and "research communications."
Hernandez told The Republic her opponent鈥檚 violent posts were 鈥渦nacceptable for anyone seeking public office鈥 and he was old enough at the time to have known better.
鈥淭o brush it off and say you were young and dumb, that鈥檚 not an excuse,鈥 she said.
Candidate denies OnlyFans accusation
The California Globe published screenshots of a second account that it alleged Perez used to promote an OnlyFans account called “ThatLocalBoy.” The publication said the screenshots were contributed by a "source."
The Republic could not independently confirm Perez ran the OnlyFans site, and Perez said he never had an OnlyFans account. He agreed he鈥檇 seen the photos that go with the accusation.
鈥淣ot at any point did I put out anything like this,鈥 he said.
The account in question featured an image of Perez used as the thumbnail photo. In one example by the California Globe, a December 2020 post on the account that included photos of Perez appeared to encourage users to watch “ThatLocalBoy” masturbate on OnlyFans.
That account no longer exists. But numerous responses to it in 2020 and 2021, none of which mention Perez, can be found with a site search.
Asked about the photos and sexually oriented posts, Perez said he was 鈥渘ot going to relegate what was me or not me.鈥
Similar posts criticized harshly
The newly revealed posts follow intense national debate over other statements by politicians that promote violence.
Several Arizona lawmakers have recently faced severe criticism for such rhetoric, including current Rep. John Gillette. The Kingman Republican said on last year a congresswoman should be "tried convicted and hanged" for what he claimed was a call by her to "overthrow” the government.
Perez said he doesn鈥檛 see himself in the same category as Gillette, who has also called Muslims as 鈥渟avages.鈥
Gillette’s statements were made in a “very different context” than the deleted posts on Perez’s account, Perez said.
Gillette鈥檚 comments drew strong criticism last year, mostly from Democrats and liberal groups. The Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee declined to investigate Gillette. Three Democratic members of Arizona鈥檚 congressional delegation 鈥 Reps. Greg Stanton, Adelita Grijalva and Yassamin Ansari 鈥 told Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro in a letter that Gillette had 鈥渃rossed lines unacceptable for any elected official.鈥 Thirty liberal advocacy groups also condemned Gillette鈥檚 statements in a letter to Montenegro.
Grijalva, a former commissioner for the Southern Arizona Education Council who has worked with Perez, said through a spokesperson she condemns all violent political rhetoric.
In 2024, former Democratic Rep. Leezah Sun of Phoenix resigned before facing possible expulsion by her peers for violent comments, including an alleged threat to throw a Tolleson city official off a balcony.
