Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Congresswoman Dina Titus have gone quiet after it emerged they both gave awards to the controversial transgender spokesperson for the Ukrainian military Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who was recently suspended from the role over making unauthorised comments on the force’s behalf.
In December of last year, the Las Vegas City Council presented Ashton-Cirillo with a series of awards for service to the Ukrainian military. According to a broadcast from the local Fox affiliate at the time, Senator Cortez Masto and Congresswoman Titus gave Ashton-Cirillo certificates of recognition for the work done in Ukraine, allegedly including serving as a combat medic.
Breitbart News has contacted both Nevada lawmakers for comment, but neither has replied at the time of this reporting.
You can’t make this up!
Transgender military spokesman for Ukraine who now goes by Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, was just honored by Las Vegas city hall. He was also given certificates of recognition by US Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Rep. Dina Titus, and former Nevada Gov Steve… pic.twitter.com/9NxKzpBBsF
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 19, 2023
Ashton-Cirillo has come under increasing scrutiny following statements made on social media, including threats to “hunt down” people who spread supposed Russian propaganda. As Breitbart reported, Senator J.D. Vance wrote to top Biden administration officials to question if the White House supported free speech protections in Ukraine and if Ashton-Cirillo had any connections to the U.S. government or intelligence agencies.
In response, Ashton-Cirillo accused Sen. Vance of spreading “gender chaos”, while asserting that those who engage in so-called Russian propaganda could not claim to be journalists and therefore are not entitled to free speech protections and must be sent to prison as “war criminals”.
Representing Ukraine at Las Vegas City Hall. pic.twitter.com/4MgwXa08Kr
— Sarah Ashton-Cirillo (Ukrainian TDF Media) (@SarahAshtonLV) December 14, 2022
The outlandish comments have drawn a spotlight on the fate of Gonzalo Lira, an American-Chilean dual citizen, who is currently imprisoned in Ukraine, the State Department confirmed to Breitbart News. Lira, a citizen journalist is reportedly facing between five to eight years in prison for comments made on his YouTube channel.
Lira has claimed to have suffered physical and mental abuse as well as financial extortion while behind bars in Ukraine. The American citizen has claimed that the charges against him are merely because of his “opinion” and that he has hurt no one.
Ashton-Cirillo has publicly admitted to being involved with his case, claiming earlier this month to have met with Lira while giving testimony. Prior to any trial being held, the former Ukrainian military spokesperson proclaimed that Gonzalo Lira was a “war criminal“.
Neither Senator Cortez Masto nor Congresswoman Titus — both of whom have been ardent supporters of the Zelensky government and for sending more weapons to Ukraine — have commented publicly on the imprisonment of Lira.
Today was perfect and so much fun!
I’m so proud of you @SarahAshtonLV
❤️💙🇺🇸🙏🇺💙💛 pic.twitter.com/E2x8OjpqLI— ⭐️Amy Tarkanian⭐️ (@MrsT106) December 13, 2022
At the December award ceremony in Las Vegas during which Ashton-Cirillo received certificates of recognition from the Democrat lawmakers, it was actually a Republican who presented the awards, former chairwoman of the Nevada GOP Amy Tarkanian.
Tarkanian, who raised eyebrows last year after deciding to endorse two Democrats in local Nevada races over Republicans, has previously described Ashton-Cirillo as one of her “besties” while urging people to follow Ashton-Cirillo as a source for “truth” about the war in Ukraine.
Following Ashton Cirillo’s suspension by the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine (TDF) this week, Tarkanian doubled down on her support, saying: “[Sarah Ashton-Cirillo] is a great friend, brilliant, hard-working, and loves her family, friends, and country, fighting for liberty and freedom,” while accusing critics of only making judgements “because she is transgender”.
“Sarah is a phenomenal human being,” she added.
Ukraine’s Transgender Spokesperson Suspended by Military, Zelensky Claims No Knowledge, as U.S. Citizen Journalist Still Remains Behind Bars in Ukrainehttps://t.co/BxzBC3lNnm
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 20, 2023