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RINO Republican, lover affair, and fiery immolation..?

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by Frank Holmes, reporter

Questions are swirling over what could be the deadliest development in Washington in decades.

The married aide of a married Republican congressman set herself on fire—and multiple sources have claimed the two were having an affair.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, hired 35-year-old Regina Santos-Aviles on November 21, 2021, and became his regional district director—but she ended up taking numerous other positions under the congressman.

The British tabloid The Daily Mail broke the story of the 43-year-old U.S. representative’s affair, which was subsequently confirmed by multiple U.S. sources including the New York Post.

Individuals familiar with the situation said the two had an affair for quite “some time,” and that her husband, Adrain Aviles, learned the two were a couple earlier this year.

The Aviles family, who had one child together, were separated at the time of her apparent suicide.

According to the police report, Regina Aviles “doused herself in gasoline” on September 13 at her home in Uvalde, Texas, and soon became “ignited in flames.” Responders doused the flames and pronounced her dead.

Police say surveillance video shows her alone in the backyard before the self-immolation—but strangely, local police say they refuse to release the video footage or the recording of the 911 call to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Congressman Gonzales did not attend her funeral on September 25…but tongues have been wagging, and fingers are now pointing at the congressman.

“Gonzales’s spokesman refused to deny the affair when repeatedly offered the opportunity by the Daily Mail,” the UK-based paper added. Instead, his spokesman blamed people who reported the affair.

“To see political bottom feeders distort the circumstances around her passing is truly sickening. Tony Gonzales remains laser-focused on delivering historic achievements for Texas and condemns any attempts to misuse this tragedy,” Gonzales’ mouthpiece told the media.

Her mother, Nora Ann Gonzales, denies the pair had an inappropriate relationship and calls the report “completely false”…but she admitted she had no idea why her daughter would commit suicide.

“The last thing she said is, ‘I don’t want to die,” the dead aide’s mother said.

Tony Gonzales is now facing massive criticism—but it’s not the first time he’s felt the heat. He’s not exactly a model Republican, much less a MAGA conservative.

The Republican Party of Texas passed a resolution in March 2023 censuring Tony Gonzales for “lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities” over his votes in favor of gun control laws and gay marriage.

“One of the first things he did upon being sworn into office was vote in support of creating the January 6) Commission. He voted in favor of same sex marriage, he voted against border security, and he voted in support of gun control and more aid for Ukraine,” wrote influencer Laura Loomer. “Gonzales signed a letter urging Joe Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and advocated for more taxpayer money to help sent abroad to fund the Ukraine-Russia war.”

Instead of listening to his party, he insulted them…in Spanish. “¡No mames RPT! Puro pedo,” he tweeted.

Translated into English—the language of the country he represents—Gonzales told Republicans: “Don’t suck, Republican Party of Texas! That’s pure crap!”

And when President Donald Trump won his third Republican presidential nomination, the Texas gun-grabber didn’t taking political aim at his once and future commander-in-chief.

Gonzales even seemed to blame President Trump for attending a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the 13 American soldiers killed by a Muslim suicide bomber during the August 2021 Abbey Gate explosion, when then-President Joe Biden abandoned them during his thoughtless pull-out from Afghanistan.

“Arlington is a very special place…and we have to keep politics out of it,” he told Face the Nation.

He has also taken shots at members of President Trump’s inner circle. As The Horn reported, Gonzales criticized billionaire Elon Musk, saying that the DOGE leader had gotten so close to President Trump that he had become America’s de facto “prime minister” before his very public falling out with the president.

The latest saga sounds like events surrounding former Democratic Congressman Gary Condit of Michigan, who reportedly told police he had been having an affair with intern Chandra Levy, who was brutally murdered in 2001.

Police never treated Condit—who later claimed he never had a relationship with Levy—as a suspect, and an illegal alien from El Salvador named Ingmar Guandique was convicted of Levy’s murder.

Still, at least one person in Texas hopes Gonzales will follow Condit’s footsteps into the private sector.

Gonzales’ Republican primary opponent, Brandon Herrera, has continually drawn attention to Gonzales’ liberal voting record.

Can a RINO who may have wrecked a married woman’s home and driven her to suicide survive in an America First Republican Party?

Should he?

About the Author

Frank Holmes is a veteran journalist and an outspoken conservative that talks about the news that was in his weekly article, “On The Holmes Front.”