Arizona lawyer whose wild allegations led to lawmaker's expulsion skips sentencing hearing
A Mesa woman and her mother who were falsely accused by the woman's ex-husband of leading a political "bribery" operation blame a former state lawmaker for helping spread the claims.
Brittany Thaler and her mother, Dawna Chavez, spoke to the news media for the first time after appearing in a Mesa courtroom Monday for the sentencing of attorney John Thaler on 13 misdemeanor protection-order violations against the women. Facing six months in jail, he skipped the hearing and was on the run from police.
The attorney is the source of bogus allegations aired at a legislative hearing in February that a Mexican drug cartel, with the help of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was bribing local elected officials and judges with forged property deeds.
Outrage over the claims led a majority of Republican state House members to later join Democrats in expelling the Chandler lawmaker, Republican Liz Harris, from office for lying about her role in allowing the testimony.
The allegations, which were reviewed and dismissed by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, are essentially the same as John Thaler made in court in 2021 during a child-custody dispute with his ex-wife. A few years before that, he had made similar claims against another former wife and her mother, court records show.
"It's unfair that somebody gave him a platform to harass and torment my family and everyone else he meets," Brittany Thaler told The Arizona Republic Monday, referring to Harris. "I understand that when you want to believe something so bad that you'll look at crazy delusions as facts. And unfortunately, these are just his crazy delusions and continued attempts to harass me and my family because I chose to escape the abuse."
"He found a forum to continue to harass us," Chavez said. "Harris allowed that. Harris created another situation where we are a victim of his again."
Harris didn't respond to a request for comment.
False allegations continue to spread
The false allegations continue to be spread on social media. Mark Finchem, a former Republican lawmaker who unsuccessfully ran for Secretary of State last year and may run for public office in 2024, has pushed the bogus claims. Steven Steele, the chair of the GOP in Harris' district, which includes Chandler and part of Gilbert, said in July that he's not ruling out the possibility the allegations are true.
While social media pundits and far-right-wing politicians have used the bribery allegations for political purposes, Brittany Thaler and Chavez have had to fight the same bogus claims in lawsuits John Thaler filed against them and other court proceedings. Fortunately for them, they said, a judge ordered John Thaler to pay the family's $115,000 in legal costs. He owes another $46,000 in child support, Brittany Thaler said.
Brittany Thaler was given sole custody of her child with John after their divorce. The women say he's used his legal knowledge to attack them in court and repeatedly defied court orders to quit harassing them.
On Monday, Chavez asked Judge Alicia Lawler to order the highest bond possible to ensure that John Thaler could not leave jail if police should find him.
The judge, noting that Thaler has been charged with seven other yet-to-be-adjudicated, alleged violations of orders of protection that ban Thaler from contacting the women, imposed a $306,000 cash bond. Chavez asked if Thaler could receive more than six months in jail; Lawler said that Thaler received the maximum sentence for each violation but acknowledged they would run concurrently and not be "stacked" to create a longer sentence.
Brittany Thaler told The Republic she met her ex-husband on a dating app and thought he shared her "same ideals and morals." Her mother and friends warned that something about John Thaler didn't seem right to them. Brittany herself found that she didn't like how he talked about his former wives. But she "dismissed" such red flags. After they married in 2016, "it all turned," she said.
"I was abused emotionally, mentally, and I should have left, but I stayed, not understanding what was going on," Brittany Thaler said.
When she did decide to leave him, the attorney fought aggressively over custody of their child. He filed hundreds of pages of complaints and exhibits with courts in Arizona and California, accusing his ex-wife and Chavez of a massive criminal conspiracy.
Somehow, Harris learned of Thaler's allegations. A first-term lawmaker and far-right conspiracy promoter, Harris invited Thaler's girlfriend, insurance agent Jacqueline Breger, to air the claims at the joint state House and Senate hearing in February.
Chavez said Harris should vetted the information and "not allowed it."
"It's sad that people believe it," Brittany Thaler said.
John Thaler tweets after missing court hearing
After the Mesa Municipal Court hearing he skipped, John Thaler tweeted that the hearing was "unlawful."
He wrote that he filed an eight-page brief with 1,500 pages of exhibits in Mesa court on Aug. 4 contesting the proceedings and that he'll file an appeal with the Arizona Court of Appeals within 30 days.
He accused the judge of "illegal" acts in the proceedings. Lawler's name is on the list of alleged bribe-takers that Breger submitted to the Legislature, which also included Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Republican House Speaker Ben Toma. He said his upcoming book would expose Mesa government as a "racketeering organization," echoing the false claims of his conspiracy theory.
John Thaler's ability to practice law in Arizona has expired, according to the State Bar of Arizona, but he can still work in California.
He's also facing trial in September on a felony charge of unlawful flight from Tempe police in another case related to his contentious child-custody challenge.
Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on Twitter @raystern.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: John Thaler, who alleged bribery of public officials, sought by police
