Quick Facts
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Biography
Rodney Garcia (born January 27, 1954) is a Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives. He was elected to House District 52 which represents Billings, Montana.
He currently serves on the local government, state administration, and transportation committees.
Controversies
In 2018, Garcia admitted to a newspaper that he'd previously been convicted of a charge related to a domestic dispute with his ex-wife, though he denied wrongdoing.
In 2019, in an interview for a militia news outlet, he referred to Child Protective Services as "kidnappers."
On January 31, 2020, at a Republican party gathering in Helena, he raised concerns about socialists inside the government. Speaking to a reporter after the event, he described socialists as "enemies of the free state" and claimed: "So actually in the Constitution of the United States (if) they are found guilty of being a socialist member you either go to prison or are shot." (The U.S. Constitution does not say this.) When asked to reflect on the appropriateness of his comment, he insisted, "I agree with my Constitution. That’s what makes us free. We’re not a democracy, we’re a Republic Constitution."
The Montana Republican Party condemned these comments as "reckless and un-American" and demanded Garcia's immediate resignation. Garcia responded that the "only way I would give my resignation is if God asked me to." He also told reporters that he'd received threats from people who "want to shoot me," and he warned, "If you miss, I won’t.”