Friday night was an interesting night in the Arizona political scene.  The Phoenix NewTimes broke a story about Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau, in which Babeau’s boyfriend alleged that the Sheriff’s lawyers threatened him with deportation if he ever went public with their relationship.  The NewTimes has photographs of Babeau and Jose along with Babeau’s alleged profile on Adam4Adam, a dating website for gay men.

Oh, did I mention that Babeau’s boyfriend is Hispanic?

Oh, and did I also mention that Babeau and his lawyer are challenging “Jose’s” legal (read: immigration) status?

Today, Sheriff Babeau held a press conference and admitted, yes, he is gay, but the allegations of threats are completely unfounded.  He also stated that it’s “almost a relief” that he no longer has to hide his sexual orientation, and in that case, I do believe him and am happy he can be who he truly is instead of hiding it.

There are allegations that Babeau’s hiding of his orientation caused him to be dismissed as headmaster of a private school in Massachusetts.

Text messages provided to the NewTimes reveal some more detail into Babeau and Jose’s relationship.

Some of the texts read:

Babeu:  “You can never have business after this and you will harm me and many others in the process . . . including yourself & your family.”

Babeu followed with: “And you say you have loved me? Papi . . . this is no good.”

Jose responded: “Good threats. Wont work. Im already hurt me . . . and you didn’t care.”

Also during the press conference, Babeau announced that he has resigned from his position as co-Chair of the Mitt Romney campaign‘s outfit in Arizona.

Babeau has been a favorite of the Tea Party here in AZ, and has taken a stance as an anti-immigration hardliner, often claiming that the Mexican drug cartels control all of Arizona south of I-8.

It’s unknown how this will affect Babeau’s Congressional campaign, but I’m willing to bet it just hit an iceberg.

Related articles

• AZ-04: Republican Paul Babeu implicated in explosive scandal, admits he is gay (dailykos.com)
• Arizona sheriff resigns Romney role after allegations (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Anti-immigrant Republican congressional candidate outed by his Mexican boyfriend!!! (dangerousminds.net)
• Paul Babeu’s Gay Mexican Ex-Lover Says Sheriff Threatened Him With Deportation (littlegreenfootballs.com)