Arizona lawmaker demands Black colleague be ‘sat down’ in voting rights debate

An Arizona lawmaker used racist language and demanded that a Black colleague be “sat down” in a clash over a voting rights bill.

Republican state representative Travis Grantham interrupted Democrat Reginald Bolding as he made a speech against a voter suppression bill.

Mr Grantham, who is white, asked the house to stop Mr Bolding from speaking using a House Rule that no member shall “use language that is personally offensive”.

In doing so he used the phrase “coloured people”, which itself is now viewed as offensive for its links to the Jim Crow era of the late 19th century.