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David Eastman (politician)

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David Eastman
Eastman at the 2024 Hazlitt Summit hosted by Young Americans for Liberty Foundation
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
from the 27th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 17, 2017 (2017-January-17)
Preceded byWes Keller
Constituency10th district (2017-2022)
Personal details
Born (1981-06-11) June 11, 1981 (age 43)
Redwood City, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Wasilla, Alaska, U.S.
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
RankCaptain
Unit164th Military Police Company
Battles/warsOperation Enduring Freedom

David C. Eastman Jr. (born June 1, 1981)[1] is a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, currently representing District 27. He originally represented District 10 from 2017 until 2022. His career has been marked by various controversial statements and political positions.

Following his re-election in 2022, attempts were made to disqualify him from office due to his membership in the far-right Oath Keepers militia after the group participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[2]

Early life and military career

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Eastman was born on June 1, 1981, in Redwood City, California,[1] growing up in Orange County.[3] He was both homeschooled and attended private school before attending West Point.[4][5] After graduating West Point, Eastman joined the United States Army where he was a military police captain stationed at Fort Richardson from 2003 to 2011.[5] He was also deployed to Afghanistan as a part of the 164th Military Police Company during Operation Enduring Freedom.[6]

Political career

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In April 2012, Eastman was named by Republicans in House District 13 as one of their choices to fill the Alaska State House seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Carl Gatto.[6] Shelley Hughes was ultimately selected to fill the seat by Alaska's governor.

In 2016, Eastman defeated Wes Keller, the Republican incumbent of Alaska's 10th House District by 196 votes in a primary challenge.[7][2]

In 2020, he was removed from his position on the ethics committee after it was found that he violated the state ethics law in 2018 by disclosing confidential information.[8][9]

Despite several attempts to disqualify him from eligibility for elected office, on August 16, 2022, Eastman received 52.06% of the vote in the ranked-choice open primary election for the 27th Alaska House District (Eastman's new district after Alaska redistricting went into effect).[10][11]

On January 22, 2024, Eastman was removed from the only remaining committee seat he held, on House Judiciary, over his opposition to a school funding bill.[12]

Political positions

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Abortion

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Eastman is against abortion in all forms. He tried to add a right-to-life amendment to a non-controversial resolution in 2017 that designated April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and filed a complaint when the committee wouldn't consider his amendment.[13]

In May 2017, Eastman was involved in a controversy regarding his remarks suggesting that Alaska Native women in villages try to get pregnant on purpose to get a "free trip to the city" for abortion. He claims there are too many "incentives" to get an abortion and said, "We have folks who try to get pregnant in this state so that they can get a free trip to the city, and we have folks who want to carry their baby past the point of being able to have an abortion in this state so that they can have a free trip to Seattle."[14] He provided no evidence for these statements, but asserted, "a number of people have come to (his) office with stories, experiences."[15] The Alaska House of Representatives voted to censure Eastman because of his remarks.[16] It marked the first time in Alaska history a politician had been censured.[17]

Racial equity recognitions

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In April 2017, Eastman voted against a bill to honor Hmong veterans and the more than 100,000 Hmong people who died supporting the United States in the Vietnam War.[18]

Eastman has also voted against bills honoring black soldiers who constructed the Alaska Highway and the recognition of Black History Month.[19][2]

Tea Party movement

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Eastman was an activist for the Tea Party movement.[20]

Lifetime membership with the Oath Keepers

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In late September 2021, following a hack of the group's internal data, it was revealed that Eastman's name was among the some 38,000 people whose names appear on a lifetime membership roster of the Oath Keepers; a far-right militia organization.[21] Records show that Eastman is a lifetime member of the Oath Keepers, as reported by BuzzFeed News and other organizations.[22][23]

As a consequence of his membership, on January 31, 2022, five members of the seven-member Committee on Committees, two Republicans, two Democrats and an Independent, all members of the House majority coalition, voted to remove Eastman from his membership on some committees.[24] In December 2022, following his re-election to the Alaska House, a lawsuit was filed barring Eastman from serving in the House. The suit alleged that his membership in the Oath Keepers and the group's role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack ran afoul of a disloyalty clause in the Alaskan Constitution. The initial court ruling found that Eastman was not disqualified on First Amendment grounds because he did not himself actively participate in the Oath Keepers' attempt to overthrow the U.S. government.[25]

2021 United States Capitol attack

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Further information: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election

Following Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 United States presidential election, Eastman posted on his website that, "The election process that has been observed thus far by the American people has been abused to such a degree that, in my view, it can no longer be called an election. To call what the American people have observed 'an election', under the United States Constitution, would be fundamentally dishonest."[26]

Eastman traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, to protest the Electoral College vote count which confirmed Joe Biden's victory, and to see Trump speak at the "Stop the Steal" rally. He spoke to Alaska Public Radio as he walked from the rally to the Capitol and was photographed a few hundred feet from the Capitol building. He later described the storming of the Capitol building as "pretty terrible."[27] The next day he promoted the false claim that the attack on the Capitol was the work of antifa.[28]

On November 11, 2021, 69 local and other graduates of West Point wrote a letter published in Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Eastman's local paper, to demand that he resign from the legislature since, though he had stressed his military credentials and training at the United States Military Academy, he had dishonored the ideals of The Long Gray Line, that is, those who had matriculated at the USMA.[5]

Reviewing efforts to contest 2020 presidential election results

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In June 2021, Eastman traveled to Arizona to observe the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit ordered by the Arizona state senate.[29]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

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During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Eastman was the sole vote in the Alaska House of Representatives against a non-binding resolution to supply military aid to Ukraine.[30]

Economic benefit of abused children's death

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In February 2023, at a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, Eastman said "It gets argued periodically that [fatal child abuse is] actually a cost savings because that child is not going to need any of those government services that they might otherwise be entitled to receive and need based on growing up in this type of environment."[31] His statements have been critiqued by fellow representatives and constituents as callous and hypocritical, as he is adamantly opposed to abortion. He was censured for his remarks by the Alaska State House in a vote of 35–1, with Eastman himself as the sole vote against the censure.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b "David Eastman, Jr.'s Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Herz, Nathaniel (February 21, 2023). "'You Should Not Be Allowed to Run the Government You Tried to Overthrow'". Politico. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "Representative David Eastman". Alaska State Legislature. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "Youngest sons joins three brothers in Eagle Scout rank". Orange County Register. June 14, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Palsha, Rebecca (November 23, 2021). "West Point graduates call on Rep. David Eastman to resign from office". KTUU-TV. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Republicans nominate 3 to fill Gatto's seat". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. April 24, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  7. ^ Wes Keller, Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Ethics panel finds Alaska Rep. David Eastman violated ethics law". KTUU-TV. Associated Press. July 19, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  9. ^ Bohrer, Becky (March 8, 2020). "Alaska House temporarily strips Eastman of committee roles". KTUU-TV. Associated Press. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Alaska legislator, member of Oath Keepers, faces lawsuit challenging his eligibility for office". August 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "State of Alaska 2022 PRIMARY ELECTION Election Summary Report August 16, 2022 OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). elections.alaska.gov. Alaska Division of Elections. 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  12. ^ Matt Acuña Buxton (January 22, 2024). "Alaska House strips far-right Rep. Eastman of his only committee seat". The Alaska Current. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ Raines, Liz (April 27, 2017). "Eastman calls for reprimand after LeDoux blocks committee debate". KTVA. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Alaska lawmaker mum amid apology demand for abortion remarks". WILK-FM. Associated Press. May 8, 2017. Archived from the original on May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  15. ^ Baird, Austin (May 3, 2017). "State lawmaker says Alaska women get abortions for travel vouchers, offers no proof". KTUU-TV. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Willingham, AJ (May 11, 2017). "Alaska rep censured for implying some women get abortions for free travel". CNN.
  17. ^ Lockyer, Chris (February 23, 2023). "Alaskan politician David Eastman censured after suggesting fatal child abuse could be 'cost saving'". Sky News. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  18. ^ Raines, Liz (May 10, 2017). "Wasilla representative casts lone no vote on bill honoring Alaska's Hmong veterans". KTVA. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  19. ^ Raines, Liz (April 7, 2017). "Wasilla lawmaker goes against the grain on votes with racial undercurrents". KTVA 11. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  20. ^ Hallow, Ralph Z. (July 19, 2010). "Palin tests her political clout with long-shot pick in Alaska". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  21. ^ Arnsdorf, Isaac (October 20, 2021). "Oath Keepers in the State House: How a Militia Movement Took Root in the Republican Mainstream". ProPublica. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  22. ^ Hohenstatt, Ben (October 20, 2021). "Data leak shows state rep is member of far-right organization". Peninsula Clarion. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  23. ^ Brooks, James (October 20, 2021). "Leaked list shows Alaska state Rep. David Eastman is a 'lifetime member' of a leading Capitol-riot group". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  24. ^ Brooks, James (January 31, 2022). "Alaska House coalition will seek to remove Rep. David Eastman from legislative committees over his Oath Keepers membership". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  25. ^ Brooks, James (December 23, 2022). "Oath Keepers seek to overthrow government, judge says, but First Amendment protects Eastman". Alaska Beacon. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  26. ^ Rockey, Tim (January 13, 2021). "Wasilla Rep Eastman part of Electoral College protest on the Capitol". Anchorage Press.
  27. ^ Dil, Cuneyt (January 6, 2021). "West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. Capitol". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  28. ^ Theriault Boots, Michelle (January 8, 2021). "Wasilla lawmaker who attended D.C. Trump rally pushes debunked theory Antifa was responsible for storming US Capitol". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  29. ^ Shuham, Matt (June 8, 2021). "Alaska Legislator Who Was In DC On Jan. 6 Gets Tour Of Arizona Audit". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  30. ^ "Alaska lawmakers back call to supply military aid to Ukraine". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. March 3, 2022. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  31. ^ Maguire, Sean (February 21, 2023). "Rep. Eastman sparks outrage after asking about the potential economic benefits of the deaths of abused Alaska children". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  32. ^ Maguire, Sean (February 22, 2023). "Alaska House censures Rep. Eastman for asking about the economic benefits of deaths of abused children". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
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