The local chapter of the NAACP called for a boycott until Republican Rep. David Stringer resigns or is removed from office over racist comments he made about African Americans.

A defender of Rep. David Stringer sent a letter filled with racist slurs and derogatory remarks to the local chapter of the NAACP after the group called for a boycott of Prescott until Stringer resigns or is removed from office for his controversial comments about black people. 

In a now widely circulated letter, Tony Imbronone, a Chino Valley business owner, said African-Americans have not “successfully integrate(d)” into society, which he attributed to “your inherent (genetic) inferiority and your decadent counter-cultural values.”

“After having been emancipated for over 150 years your race is still unable to successfully integrate yourselves into society and it’s not whitey’s fault. It’s your own fault,” he wrote. 

Chino Valley, a town about 25 minutes north of Prescott, is in Stringer’s Legislative District 1. 

Stringer’s comments spark response

The letter, dated Dec. 12 and written on letterhead with Imbronone’s address and phone number, was sent shortly after the East Valley chapter of the NAACP called for a boycott of Prescott until Stringer is removed from office.

Community groups and local and state officials revived the call for Stringer to resign from office in late November after recordings of racist comments he made to university students Nov. 19 were published, initially by the Phoenix New Times. 

Among other remarks, the Prescott Republican can be heard saying, “African-Americans and other racial groups don’t … blend in” after coming to the United States and that, unlike immigrants of European descent, they “always look different.” 

He said such differences create “tensions” and “burdens on our system.” 

He also has said he views immigration of non-white people to the country as a threat to national identity. In June, he came under fire after he was filmed saying immigration is an “existential threat” that will change the face of the United States because “there aren’t enough white kids to go around” in Arizona’s minority-laden public schools.

The Prescott City Council voted Dec. 4 to demand Stringer’s immediate resignation.

The East Valley chapter of the NAACP called for a travel advisory to Prescott the next day, asking members and supporters not to shop, travel or stay in the city. 

Imbronone had contributed $50 to Stringer’s re-election campaign on Aug. 31, according to campaign finance reports. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Stringer also did not respond to a request for comment. 

Writer mocks boycott

In the letter, Imbronone mocked the civil rights group’s call for a boycott, writing that not only did he welcome a boycott, the group should also boycott Phoenix because that is where Stringer lives during the legislative session. 

“You’re going to boycott Prescott? That’s good news. That means we will be seeing fewer Democrats + fewer (N-word) and that means less crime and less stink,” he wrote. “In fact, you should probably boycott the entire country since there are plenty of intellectually honest people all over the U.S. who know that what David Stringer said is true.”

He referred to Roy Tatem, president of the East Valley NAACP, as a “gorilla” and attached a picture of Tatem to the letter.

The letter has been shared on Facebook and Twitter by hundreds who have come out in support of Tatem and the NAACP, including former Democratic legislative and congressional candidates and leaders in the Black community.

According to an online public records search, Imbronone is the owner of Orion Arms, a firearms training and gunsmithing business in Chino Valley.

The address and phone number listed on the businesses’ website is the same as the one listed on the letter sent to the NAACP. The address is also tied to another Facebook page for a business called Rough Rider Arms. 

According to his website, Imbronone provides legal consultation and expert court testimony on firearms. He has testified on firearm legality, design and safety at 10 trials, according to his website.

Former client: ‘Vile hate speech’

One of Imbronone’s former clients has disavowed him over the letter.

Attorney John Osborne, managing partner of the firm Goldberg & Osborne, sent  Imbronone a letter Wednesday demanding that he no longer list them as a client on his website.

Osborne called the letter “vile hate speech.” He said Imbronone later left him a voicemail stating that he didn’t want Osborne as a reference anyway.

“So he’s unapologetic, apparently,” Osborne told The Arizona Republic. “We have rejected this guy as hard as we know how to. It’s incredible that there are people like this in the world.”

Osborne said he hired Imbronone to testify as a firearms expert in a case about 20 years ago.

Tatem, of the NAACP, questioned whether Imbronone’s court testimonies have negatively impacted people of color and said the local chapter of the NAACP will be looking into it.

‘Hate-filled and hostile’

Tatem said while he is used to receiving communication from people who disagree with the positions he has taken on police shootings and Confederate monuments, he never has received a letter “as hate-filled and hostile as this.”

“I was a bit shocked. I was taken aback,” he said. “This letter was the first letter where I was directly called a (N-word) and referred to as a gorilla with my picture attached to it. It was unsettling and it felt like a threat.” 

Tatem said the call for a boycott has received mixed reviews. Some people have supported the call, but others have said the boycott should have targeted Stringer’s businesses rather than the city as a whole.

Stringer, an attorney, is an investor in Specialized Publishing, a digital publications company, and a former motel owner.

Still, Tatem said he stands by his decision.

And he said the call for a boycott is not just rhetoric or way to continue the conversation regarding Stringer’s racial comments. It is in action, he said. 

He said he has heard from NAACP members and supporters who have said they will not shop in or visit Prescott, and from youth and community groups who are rearranging trips that were scheduled to the city.

Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @paulinapineda22.

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