A Pierce County Republican has alleged that a former gubernatorial candidate from the Tri-Cities made threats against his life at a weekend meeting of the state party.
But Semi Bird, the candidate in question, denied he made the threats, calling the allegations “Bird Derangement Syndrome” and saying he conducted himself with “kindness and professional decorum” at the meeting.
David Prutzman, a state committeeman, did not return phone calls or text messages this week requesting an interview about what happened.
He and another party member called the police Friday, Aug. 16, after Bird allegedly made the threats at a meeting of the Washington State Republican Party at the Wenatchee Convention Center.
“A gentleman just approached another gentleman. He was mad at him, and he called him a fat f***er and said he was going to bury him, and he’s lucky his wife’s here so he didn’t,” a Chelan County party member told an 911 emergency dispatcher.
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A copy of the call was obtained by the Tri-City Herald under the Washington Public Records Act. The Herald also requested the Wenatchee Police Department investigation and witness statement but they had not been released by Thursday evening.
It’s unclear if anyone else overheard the interaction between the men.
State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh did not respond to a request for comment about the incident.
If true, the remarks appear to be a concerning escalation in the bad blood that’s simmered between Bird, an outsider candidate for Washington governor who earned the state party’s endorsem*nt earlier this year, and moderates from his own party, who backed another candidate in the Aug. 6 primary election.
Bird claims party leaders “ruined” him and and his family after media reports surfaced that he allegedly defrauded the military to further his military career and engaged in stolen valor. He’s denied them.
Bird placed third in the election, earning just 11% of the open-primary vote. Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert will face off in the Nov. 5 general election.
“Even though I am no longer a candidate, nor will I ever be one again, they feel as though they must continue to discredit and destroy me,” Bird said in a statement to the Herald.
He has declined to endorse Reichert in the general election and says he’s planning a citizens initiative to restore same-day, in-person voting.
‘Visibly shaken’
“The Jason Rantz Show,” on 770 KTTH in Seattle, was first to report on the threat allegations. The show’s Sunday report included a photo of a witness statement reportedly written by Prutzman.
The statement says Prutzman ran into Bird after the meeting at the convention. On his way to the reception area, he passed Bird but turned around to speak to him.
Prutzman had made a motion at the meeting to prohibit the state party from funding attack ads against fellow Republicans, according to the Rantz report, and Bird had called the move “hypocritical,” suggesting he had spoken ill of him.
“I approached Semi and told him, I am not sure what you have heard but I have never publically (sic) attacked you on social media or in public settings,” the police statement read.
“He (Semi) started out calling me a fat motherf***er, said several other things that I can’t remember then, as his wife walked [redacted] of the restroom, he stated I better be f***ing glad his wife [redacted] with him or he would bury me fat motherf***er. He was very angry, said it multiple times and I walked away. He then yells to be (sic) that I better walk away,” it continued.
A Chelan Party member found Prutzman “really visibly shaken up,” according to the Rantz report, and helped call the sheriff and then 911.
Aaron Young, chairman of the Chelan County Republican Party, told Rantz that the incident was “really reminiscent” of a conversation he and Bird had previously had where Bird made “veiled threats” against him if he “crossed him again.”
Bird suggested in a Thursday episode of his podcast that Republican leaders in Pierce and Chelan counties teamed up to fabricate the threats story.
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