9 March 30th–april 5th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | Trashy Trumpsters A protest over Trump’s arrest that never was turns into a tearful bitch fest in Phoenix. BY ELIAS WEISS A s the sun dipped behind the Arizona Capitol on March 21, supporters of former President Donald Trump gathered to protest some- thing that — let’s be honest — was never going to happen. It was the day that Trump told his faithful he would be arrested on charges stemming from a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. The ex-president urged his followers to take to the streets in protest. And they did just that in downtown Phoenix. About 40 people swaddled them- selves in Trump-related flags, toted bull- horns, and donned red caps as they gathered at the Capitol Mall. The demonstrators wore T-shirts that read “Fuck Joe Biden,” “I Love Guns,” and “Armed as Fuck,” while others carried signs that displayed this message about deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: “I Care Who Raped Kids On His Island. Where Is The Fucking Client List??” State troopers nearby kept a watchful eye, but the rally was peaceful — even amid chants of “Democracy is dead!” ‘They Think We’re Human Garbage’ The Trump Loyalty Rally was organized by TheJFKReport, a hard-right Libertarian activist group in Phoenix headed up by Micajah Jackson. The Phoenix resident pleaded guilty to his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and is serving a three-year proba- tion sentence. The FBI considers him a member of the neo-fascist white supremacy group Arizona Proud Boys, but he has denied any affiliation. “They think we’re human garbage,” Jackson told Phoenix New Times, referring to critics of Trump, himself and other “J6ers” like him. “I don’t share a country with those people.” Jackson didn’t profess Trump’s inno- cence after the ex-president was accused of falsifying business records to mask hush payments to Daniels. Instead, he believes the pursuit of criminal action “sets a very dangerous precedent.” “This is Soviet Union tactics,” said Jackson, who wore a classic fire engine red MAGA hat. “It’s a dangerous game, and it’s a slippery slope. This only leads one way, and that’s full-blown authoritarianism.” Trump has already announced his bid to run for president again next year. He can still be elected if indicted or convicted — even if he is in prison. Jackson and others at the rally said Trump’s legal issues will only help him gain sympathy, and therefore more support in his latest bid for the White House. “It’s political persecution,” Ethan Schmidt-Crockett, a local alt-right troll, told New Times at the rally. Schmidt-Crockett also is serving a three-year probation sentence for harassing a Mesa business. He smiled as he mentioned New Times coverage of his sentencing on March 2. “Hey, I guess there’s no such thing as bad press,” he said. ‘We Will Shut Down America’ If Trump is indicted by a New York grand jury in the coming days, his supporters in Phoenix plan to take more action. “If Trump gets arrested, next week, everyone stays at home,” said Leland Pike, who attended the rally. “We will shut down America. That is something we can do.” But last week — with Trump still yet to be indicted — there wasn’t much to protest. The rally quickly devolved into an airing of personal grievances for the convicts and fringe activists who comprised the crowd. They hit on hackneyed right-wing talking points like a game of Whac-A-Mole: Epstein’s island. Hunter Biden’s laptop. Stolen elections. Coronavirus conspiracies. Ukraine war hoax. America putting its own citizens into “gulags.” “The election was stolen from me,” declared Jeffrey Zink, a Republican who lost to incumbent U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego in the November midterm election. Zink, widely considered a massive underdog, earned less than 24 percent of the vote and lost by about 50,000 ballots in a majority Democrat and Latino district. Like Jackson, Zink participated in the January 6, 2021, riot in Washington along with his son, Ryan Zink. The younger Zink pleaded not guilty to four counts relating to the unrest, and was “thrown into a gulag” where he became a “political prisoner,” his father said. Yet, Jeffrey Zink said he’d “absolutely” do it all over again. Zink broke down into tears at the rally last week as he implored the group to pray to God to help Trump. “In America, you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Today, you’re guilty until proven Democrat,” he said. | NEWS | Elias Weiss About 40 people rallied at the Arizona Capitol on March 21 in support of former President Donald Trump. Behind Bars The ‘serial fraudster’ behind Breakfast Bitch is now in federal prison. BY MATT HENNIE AND TIRION BOAN T racii Show Hutsona — the noto- rious felon behind downtown restaurant Breakfast Bitch — is now in federal prison in Phoenix, starting a 51-month prison sentence earlier than expected after prosecutors said she harassed the victims whom she bilked of more than $1 million. Hutsona is the force behind the popular breakfast spot, which opened inside the Cambria Hotel in November 2020. As Hutsona’s most recent crim- inal case unfolded, the restaurant moved to the former home of Golden Margarita on Roosevelt Row. Hutsona, sentenced on February 28, had until mid-April to report to prison. But prosecutors alleged that she violated the conditions of her release and urged a judge to send her to prison immediately. Hutsona reported to the Federal Correctional Institution Phoenix on March 20. “The defendant plainly presents a danger to the community, and specifi- cally to the victim and her family,” Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a March 13 letter to U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman. Williams also called Hutsona a flight risk. During a four-year period — from October 2015 to November 2019 — Hutsona stole more than $1 million from Joumana Kidd, an actress and ex-wife of Jason Kidd, the former NBA star and current head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Prosecutors said Hutsona’s fraud scheme included transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars from Joumana Kidd’s checking account and two college savings accounts for Kidd’s children to her own at a time when Hutsona was being paid $80,000 a year as Joumana Kidd’s personal assistant. “For years, the defendant preyed upon a vulnerable victim, stole that victim’s identity and money set aside by that victim for the education of her children, and used the proceeds of her crime to lead a luxury lifestyle while shirking her responsibility to pay back her prior victims,” Williams said in a February 21 letter to Furman. Hutsona was arrested in Arizona on February 17, 2021, and charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. In July 2022, she >> p11 Elias Weiss Micajah Jackson, who pleaded guilty for attacking the U.S. Capitol, organized the Trump Loyalty Rally on March 21.
