SE Valley Times

Arizona State Rep. Justin Heap (R-10) said he recently received "hateful and racist" messages on twitter from a man he described as a "brony."  

“I'm a bit shaken,” tweeted Heap. “Today I received a series of hateful & racist DMs from a stranger on Twitter."

"The DMs don't bother me (I get those all the time) but the fact that the sender was a 'Brony.' Meaning an adult man who posts exclusively about the children's cartoon 'My Little Pony.'" he said. "I'm not sure my campaign can survive if I've lost the 'adult men who identify as colorful mythological underage unicorns' vote.”

Cosplayers of numerous characters from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic at the 2012 Summer "BronyCon" | Wikipedia/Creative Commons: Keith Survell: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithius/7475915456/

According to Urban Dictionary, the word "brony" refers to a male fan of My Little Pony, particularly the "Friendship is Magic" series. The alternate definitions posted on the site also include references to social awkwardness, inappropriate behaviors and generally making fun of those who identify as such.

WhatIsABrony.com further defines a "brony" as “a grown-up fan of My Little Pony, namely of the 2010 show. Bronies are a community of fans who simply aren't afraid to admit that they enjoy a colorful, fun show.” The site gives an in depth timeline of the show and the group of fans called the “Bronydom.” The site links articles about the phenomenon and fan art from the members.

Heap is the current representative for Arizona’s 10th Legislative District. He was sworn into the office in January 2023, and will serve until January of 2025. According to Ballotpedia, he won the election in November 2022, alongside fellow Republican Barbara Parker. The two Republican politicians took the two representative seats for the district, beating out Democrat candidate Helen Hunter.

According to the Arizona State Legislature, Heap’s district is located in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, northeast of the city of Phoenix. Heap is a member of the Committees on Commerce and Municipal Oversight and Elections, and is a vice chairman on the Committee of Ways and Means. He recently wrote two bills - HB2082 and HB2081 - both being technical corrections to election systems.