By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Deer Valley school board member is facing calls to resign following controversy over a Nazi-style salute she made during a meeting last month.
Read more PD: Woman with knife threatens Motel 6 guests, kicks firefighter in Mesa
Kim Fisher has since denied supporting Nazi ideology, saying her actions have been mischaracterized.
Organizers are set to arrive around 3:45 p.m. ahead of the school board study session set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The controversy began over a disagreement between Fisher and the board president over a meeting time.
Community members and advocacy groups have condemned the moment from a May 26 board meeting, arguing elected leaders like Fisher should be held to a higher standard.
Rally organizers say they want to send a message that hate and intolerance have no place in public education.
Legal perspective
“Some people think she was doing something supportive of a Nazi party or a Nazi candidate. It looks evident to me that she was actually saying her opponent was acting like a Nazi,” said First Amendment attorney Gregg Leslie.
Leslie said offensive speech is often protected under the Constitution.
“People have the right to call for a resignation, but I don’t think you can really demand it,” he said.
Leslie said there’s a difference between public pressure and government action.
“If the government actually took action to remove her from office, I think she’d have a civil rights suit against the body that removed her,” he explained.
Read more Gilbert approves immediate crackdown on reckless e-bike riders
Fisher’s response
Fisher has since apologized to those offended but insists the gesture was not intended as support for Nazism. She said she was trying to criticize district leadership over a meeting she felt was scheduled at a time that made it hard for working parents to attend.
She said the backlash has turned into harassment, claiming her family has received threats and that her personal information has been posted online.
In a statement, Fisher said: “I understand the symbol I used is extremely offensive, but it is not at all what the District or the Teachers Union are pretending it was.”
“These are weird situations because they’re not always what they seem,” Leslie said.
Organizers said they expect a large turnout for Tuesday’s rally and plan to stay for the board meeting to voice their concerns directly to district leaders.
Fisher has not indicated any plans to resign.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Read more Arizona’s wildfire risk rises as people ignore restrictions