Tri-City school official poses with ‘favorite’ embattled congressman. Reaction was swift

A Tri-Cities school board member is getting heat for a photo he shared of himself with a controversial U.S. congressman under investigation for allegations of sex trafficking.

Kennewick School Board member Micah Valentine shared a photo of himself with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R. - Fla., this week captioned, “Probably my favorite #MattGaetz.”

It was taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando in February.

On Wednesday, Gaetz, who is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegations of sex trafficking involving a teen girl, voted against an anti-sex trafficking bill. Gaetz has not yet been charged with a crime.

Gaetz was implicated in the investigation when his close friend, former Seminole County, Florida, Tax Assessor Joel Greenberg, was arrested and later convicted of numerous crimes including sex trafficking involving a minor.

Greenberg’s sentencing has reportedly been delayed as he cooperates with the investigation into Gaetz and the larger array of crimes, according to a July 8 article from Politico.

Gaetz was one of 20 Republican in Congress to vote against the anti-sex trafficking bill. Others included Lauren Boebert, Louie Gohmert and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

A spokesperson for Gaetz told USA Today that he voted against it because of the definition of sex trafficking used, which he believes would create “a backdoor loophole for illegal immigration and amnesty.” He also claimed the cost of the bill was too high.

The bill is intended to bolster anti-sex trafficking measures that have been in place since 2000.

Valentine told the Herald Thursday that he was not aware of that vote, but believes Gaetz probably had a good reason for voting against it.

When asked if he was concerned about being an elected school board member posing for photos with someone accused of sex trafficking, Valentine was confident of Gaetz’s innocence.

“The optics of it is, it didn’t happen. Let me tell you this, if it did happen I would be the first one to speak out about how terrible it is. I have four daughters, and my wife and I have spent a lot of time battling sex trafficking,” Valentine said. “It’s something I’m very concerned about. I feel confident that it’s a totally fabricated story. It didn’t happen so I’m not going to hold Matt Gaetz accountable for something he didn’t do.”

Valentine said he understands he is held to a higher standard as an elected official, and that his actions speak for him. He pointed to his work in the community and advocacy on the school board.

“I’m not going to penalize Matt Gaetz for false claims someone made against him,” he said. “And if someone is expecting me to do that, they need to look at themselves in the mirror and ask what country they live in.”

But some Tri-Citians were not shy with their criticism.

“You work in a position of leadership to help oversee a school district with 18,000+ children in it. You posed with someone accused of sex crimes with a minor ... And he recently voted against reauthorizing a bill to combat human trafficking,” a West Richland woman posted under the photo on his Facebook page.

And a Richland man called Micah and Gaetz “a disgusting pair.”

Valentine said he attempted to respond to a social media post on Reddit and his account was suspended.

“That’s what happens if you’re a conservative, they come after you,” Valentine said.

It’s unclear if his account was actually suspended. The only comment removed from the post on r/TriCitiesWA, which is a community for discussion of happenings in the Tri-Cities area, is one from an account that was too new to be allowed to comment.

Many Reddit communities enforce guidelines for account activity in order to minimize harassment attempts via creation of “burner” accounts, that is a new or throwaway account created for the sole purpose of harassment or evading bans.

An archiving service that stores deleted comments did not have a copy, and indicated it was an automatic removal within 12 seconds, rather than an action taken by a moderator.

Valentine believes that Gaetz is innocent and is being blackmailed or extorted.

While it is true that a family friend attempted to extort Gaetz’s family, the person was claiming he could get Gaetz a pardon. He wanted $25 million from Gaetz’s father in exchange for a pardon that would shut down the sex trafficking investigation, according to Politico.

Valentine said he believes Gaetz has a right to due process.

“In our country we have a law of the land called innocent until proven guilty,” Valentine said.

Valentine said he feels it isn’t his place to pass judgment on someone who hasn’t been charged with a crime.

“I’m not a judge,” he said. “I look at people, I love people and I care about people.”

The social media controversy is one of several involving Valentine in recent months. In May he spoke at a Richland school board meeting telling two of its members to resign.

More recently, he was criticized by fellow Republicans for insinuating that state Rep. Brad Klippert or his campaign staff were stealing congressional candidate Jerrod Sessler’s signs. Valentine is currently Sessler’s campaign manager.

He also went on Lars Larson’s show to discuss an attempt to “ban teaching critical race theory.”

During that interview he was critical of his school board colleagues, and did not correct Larson when he repeatedly disparaged the other school board members or told the audience they were liberals.

School boards in Washington are nonpartisan.