Arizona Democrat minister lawmaker appears to hide Bibles, video shows

Arizona Democrat state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, an ordained Presbyterian minister, is under scrutiny after video surfaced appearing to show her hiding Bibles from the House's members-only lounge.

Bibles were vanishing in the lounge, prompting the state House security team to put a camera in the room to catch the person responsible for it. Local outlet 3TV/CBS5 on Tuesday published the security camera footage appearing to show Hamilton taking two of the lounge's Bibles and hiding them.

"When I’m watching that, I’m thinking, ‘Well, this is obviously someone who’s got some purpose and some intent, and they know they’re doing something bad," Republican Pro-Tempore Speaker Travis Grantham said about the video. 

The Bibles were found buried in the lounge's furniture and in the community refrigerator.

"I am a Presbyterian minister so I obviously don’t have a problem with the Bible," Stahl Hamilton said. She also said moving the Bibles was "a little playful commentary on the separation of church and state."

Grantham said her response didn't inspire faith. "No not at all, the state motto is God enriches. I don’t quite understand the issue of having a Bible available for members to read," he said.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.