by Staff Reporter | Sep 2, 2026 | Home Page Top Story, News
By Staff Reporter |
The head of the Arizona Republican Party is predicting that Attorney General Kris Mayes will face an investigation of her own for her alleged lack of investigation into Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Sergio Arellano stated in an interview with the “Conservative Circus” on Monday that Arizona Democrats should be “terrified” over the continued inquiries into Mayes.
“Kris Mayes didn’t just make Sunshine Residential Homes disappear; she may have just moved the spotlight directly onto herself,” said Arellano.
The Arizona Republican Party issued a statement accusing Hobbs of leading a “culture of corruption,” and endorsing the Republican nominee for governor, Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05).
Arellano also urged Republicans to issue the transcripts from their investigation into Mayes and Hobbs.
More than two years after launching an investigation based on media reports connecting Hobbs with an unusual rate increase for one of her major donors, Mayes released a short memorandum clearing Hobbs of pay-to-play corruption.
Sunshine Residential Homes, a major group home operator in the state, and its CEO, Simon Kottoor, are among the top donors to Hobbs’ campaign, legal fund, and inaugural fund. The company received substantial rate increases in 2023 and 2024 following years of denials before Hobbs took office.
The most recent denial occurred a month after Hobbs was sworn in. Several months later, following a dinner attended by Hobbs and her campaign chief at Kottoor’s residence, Sunshine Residential Homes received the rate increase it had sought — while other group home operators were denied increases or had their contracts cut entirely.
Mayes’ seven-page memorandum clearing Hobbs was criticized across the board not only for its length but for it allegedly revealing oversights concerning apparent evidence that some corruption had occurred.
Mayes maintained that the scope of her investigation was thorough; it included more than 100,000 documents. The attorney general suggested that the legislature was to blame for the perceived pay-to-play issues, and advocated for improved transparency laws.
Earlier this summer, Hobbs vetoed the sort of legislation Mayes suggested to ensure greater transparency. Hobbs claimed that because the legislation would also bring transparency to the Sunshine Residential Homes debacle, it was a “political stunt.”
Most recently, House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) sent Mayes a letter demanding she provide answers to five questions indicating key contradictions and omissions in her investigation. Montenegro cited evidence from Department of Child Safety employee testimonies and contracting requirements as support for the scope of questioning.
“The Memorandum suggests your Office failed to pursue critical issues and reached conclusions that directly conflict with reliable evidence — including information provided by the very witnesses your Office claims to have interviewed,” said Montenegro. “Those failures raise the specter that your Memorandum was intended to influence the November election by attempting to inoculate the Governor from a perceived political vulnerability.”
Montenegro gave Mayes until Friday, September 4, to answer.
Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) — who is the Republican nominee for attorney general — has also called on Mayes to release the records that informed her decision to clear Hobbs of wrongdoing. Petersen called Mayes’ memorandum a “cliffs notes report” that withheld critical information from the public.
An Arizona House special advisory team and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office are still investigating the pay-to-play allegations against Hobbs, despite an initial order from Mayes to stand down as her office conducted its investigation.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Sep 2, 2026 | Must Read, News
By Staff Reporter |
The U.S. House passed legislation mandating victims of certain sexual or violent crimes have lifetime protections against their abusers.
Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) sponsored the Kayleigh’s Law Act of 2026, or Kayleigh’s Law, named after Arizona native and survivor advocate Kayleigh Kozak. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Eli Crane (R-AZ-02), Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), and David Schweikert (R-AZ-01) were among the bill’s original cosponsors.
The legislation passed via unanimous voice vote on Monday.
In an address on the House floor, Hamadeh said that the bill would ensure that the criminal justice system would no longer prioritize the desires of abusers over the safety of victims.
In a press release, Hamadeh stated that Kayleigh’s Law would “eliminate the ‘legal tug-of-war’” requiring survivors to face their abusers in court.
“This bill is simple. When a predator is convicted, federal courts must issue a lifelong no-contact injunction. Not until probation ends. Not until some judge decides the offender has ‘moved on.’ For life,” said Hamadeh. “Victims should never again have to fill out another form, sit across from their abuser, or look over their shoulder because the sentence ran out and the system shrugged.”
Kozak has attested in many interviews in recent years that she was victimized by her middle school P.E. teacher who was also her soccer coach. Her abuser requested an end to probation in 2020, 13 years after his conviction, and Kozak was given three weeks’ notice.
“Two times as an adult she was hauled back to look at the man who destroyed her childhood just to keep him away. No victim should ever have to do that,” said Hamadeh.
Arizona law already requires courts to issue a lifelong no-contact injunction for sex offenders. This federal version would expand that no-contact mandate to certain violent felons.
“Contact” was defined to mean all direct or indirect communication, transmission, or physical interaction, including written, oral, electronic, digital, or physical means and communications executed through an intermediary or technological systems.
The Arizona version of this legislation was enacted in 2022, and is also named Kayleigh’s Law.
Biggs’ running mate for Arizona Governor, Sine Kerr, was the sponsor that led passage of the Arizona version of Kayleigh’s Law.
According to Hamadeh’s office, more than 1,000 child sex abuse survivors in Arizona benefited from the state’s lifetime no-contact protections within the first year of the law’s enactment.
“Kayleigh’s Law would give every American victim of a federal sex crime or a violent felony that same shield,” said Hamadeh. “Healing cannot begin if the abuser can show up again the day after release. Justice is not complete if the victim still lives in fear. Arizona already closed that gap; it is time the federal government did the same, so no American, no matter which state they live in, is left unprotected after a federal conviction.”
Three of Kozak’s five children were present with her for the passage of the bill.
A related bill, also titled Kayleigh’s Law Act of 2026, is making its way through the Senate under sponsorship from Utah Sen. Mike Lee. It was read twice and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Sep 1, 2026 | Education, Must Read, News
By Staff Reporter |
Attorney General Kris Mayes is declining to investigate Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) for potential violations of open meeting law due to a potential conflict of interest.
Mayes referred the complaint, filed back in April, to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO).
The complaint accused SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel of violating open meeting law concerning school closures and consolidations, specifically with regard to the operations of the Phase II Design Advisory Team tasked with handling those decisions. The governing board voted to close Pima Elementary School and Echo Canyon School last December.
According to the complaint, the district’s Phase II Design Advisory Team must be open to the public because it was formed at the direction of the board, not the superintendent. The design advisory team operates under the classification of a Superintendent Advisory Committee, which is exempt from Open Meeting Law requirements.
The Phase II Design Advisory team publicizes its past and upcoming meeting dates and materials but does not permit the public to attend the meetings. The team held five meetings as part of Phase A, which lasted from March through May, and recently concluded five meetings as part of Phase B, which lasted from June through earlier this month.
Menzel proposed the design advisory team during a regular governing board meeting last November, and the following month the board discussed the formation of the design advisory team in a regular meeting. The board didn’t vote at that latter meeting to form the design advisory team.
The citizen who filed the complaint told AZ Free News that MCAO informed him in late July that the attorney general’s office had referred the investigation to them. Caitlyn Mitchell, an attorney with the Civil Services Division, told the complainant that the attorney general could not investigate because it provides legal counsel to SUSD.
“The Arizona Attorney General’s Office referred your Open Meeting Law complaint against the Scottsdale Unified School District to us to avoid any potential conflict of interest because the AG’s Office also provides legal counsel to SUSD,” said Mitchell.
Around the time of our initial reporting, SUSD advised AZ Free News that their officials were not aware of the complaint filed against the district, nearly a month after the complaint had been filed.
AZ Free News asked the MCAO when the attorney general referred the complaint to their office, and when they might have the results of their investigation complete.
We also asked about communications with SUSD, given the lack of awareness the district initially had when the complaint was in the possession of the attorney general’s office.
MCAO didn’t respond to our inquiries.
Last summer, the attorney general’s office found SUSD in violation of open meeting law for engaging in actions similar to those that led to the creation of the Phase II Design Advisory Team.
“The Open Meeting Law does not permit a governing board to evade the public meeting requirements by ‘informally’ forming or establishing, or by directing a superintendent to establish, a committee to perform work that would otherwise need to be conducted in public,” stated Mayes. “[W]e caution against an overly narrow reading of the law focused exclusively on the circumstances of a committee’s creation.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Aug 31, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
As one of his last major moves in Congress leading up to the November showdown against Gov. Katie Hobbs, Republican nominee and Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) is attempting to reach across the aisle to pass core priority legislation.
Biggs publicly called on Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego to secure Senate consideration and passage of his bill addressing child exploitation.
The bill, Coercion and Sexual Abuse Free Environment Act (CSAFE), passed in the House in mid-January earlier this year. Biggs urged Kelly and Gallego to work with him to root out the current flaws in the law that worsen child coercion and exploitation.
“It’s been 227 days since the U.S. House unanimously passed my CSAFE Act to deliver long-overdue legal clarity and serious consequences for criminals who coerce and exploit children,” said Biggs. “Passage of this bill would close gaps in federal law that allow predators to hide behind screens, anonymity, and outdated statutes while young lives are shattered. It’s time for action. It’s time for the U.S. Senate to pass CSAFE.”
The legislation would make it a punishable crime to coerce minors into committing self-harm, suicide, animal abuse, or other torturous or sexually exploitative acts. Those that violate this proposed law would face fines and up to 10 years in prison at minimum.
Coercion that results in the serious bodily injury of a child would bump the imprisonment maximum to 10 years, and coercion that results in death would empower a judge to sentence the offender to prison for life or as long as deemed necessary.
The bill defines coercion to include “the use of a threat, extortion, blackmail, fraud, deceit, or manipulation.”
Coercion against children often occurs online.
In late 2024, the Department of Justice arrested a 20-year-old Tucson man for producing child sexual abuse material and cyberstalking. The man, Baron Cain Martin, was indicted last October on 29 counts related to his alleged participation in a child exploitation enterprise.
Martin was allegedly a part of 764: one of the more notorious online violent terror networks, also known as child sextortion sites.
According to the indictment and DOJ announcement, Martin produced and distributed child pornography and coerced and enticed minors to engage in sexual activity under the moniker “Convict.”
Martin was also indicted on conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, or maim persons in a foreign country; cyberstalking; animal crushing and distribution of animal crushing videos; and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Martin allegedly first entered the world of child sextortion in 2019. His represents the first case in which a 764 member faces terrorism charges. His case, United States v. Martin, is ongoing in the Arizona District Court.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year directing federal agencies to coordinate on disrupting cyber crimes including sextortion, and the networks behind those crimes. The order is part of the Trump administration’s broader Cyber Strategy for America initiative.
The initiative identified six pillars for improving cybersecurity: shaping adversary behavior, promoting commonsense regulation, modernizing and securing federal government networks, securing critical infrastructure, sustaining superiority in critical and emerging technologies, and building talent and capacity.
An action plan for implementing this initiative is forthcoming.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Aug 31, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Reports of violent crime dropped by double digits last year, according to the latest federal reporting.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its Reported Crime in the Nation Statistics for 2025 last week, which reflected some violent crimes dropping by nearly 20% nationwide.
According to the FBI, its Uniform Crime Reporting Program reflected that 2024-2025 marked the largest year-to-year decline in violent crimes in nearly 100 years. The FBI began those estimations in 1936.
Nationally, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offense reports decreased by more than 18%. Rape offense reports decreased by nearly 8%. Aggravated assault reports decreased by more than 18%. Property crime decreased by more than 12%.
Additionally, the FBI reported that the murder rate for 2025 tied with the lowest murder rate on record, which occurred in 1955 and 1956: 4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.
In Arizona in 2025, there were:
- 21,499 reports of aggravated assault: a 10% decrease from 2024 (24,067) and a 7% decrease from (23,121)
- 363 reports of homicide: a 10% decrease from 2025 (407) and 23% decrease from 2023 (477)
- 2,867 reports of rape: a 10% decrease from 2024 (3,192) and 14% decrease from 2024 (3,361)
- 3,785 reports of robbery: a 23% decrease from 2024 (4,969) and 20% decrease from 2023 (4,775)
These first two years of the Trump administration, from January 2025 through the latest reporting in August 2026, there have been 32,811 reports of aggravated assault, 495 reports of homicide, 4,281 reports of rape, and 5,804 reports of robbery in Arizona.
In a similar capture of the first two years of the Biden administration, from January 2021 through August 2022, there were 25,899 reports of aggravated assault, 540 reports of homicide, 4,081 reports of rape, and 5,034 reports of robbery.
The last two years of the Biden administration, from January 2023 through August 2024, there were 39,485 reports of aggravated assault, 735 reports of homicide, 5,529 reports of rape, and 8,123 reports of robbery.
The entirety of Biden’s administration, there were 80,643 reports of aggravated assault, 1,616 reports of homicide, 11,825 reports of rape, and 16,594 reports of robbery.
The entirety of Trump’s first administration, there were 94,824 reports of aggravated assault, 1,640 reports of homicide, 14,111 reports of rape, and 26,652 reports of robbery.
FBI Director Kash Patel released a preview of reported crime data for 2026 which reflected a continued decline in violent crimes.
According to the report, preliminary trends established by reports made from January through June 2026 reflect violent crime down by more than 10%, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter down by 23%, rape down by more than 18%, robbery down by more than 19%, and aggravated assault down by more than 7%.
The agency also shared that there was a 2.4% increase in law enforcement agencies submitting their crime data compared with the previous year.
The FBI also reported on law enforcement feloniously killed in the line of duty. Last year, 53 law enforcement officers were killed; a decline from 2024. According to the agency, more law enforcement officers were feloniously killed from 2021 to 2024 than any other consecutive four-year period.
The White House claimed the declining crime rates as the result of the Trump administration’s focus on “unprecedented enforcement” along with the support of a Republican trifecta.
The FBI reported a 90% increase in violent crime arrests, a 13% increase in child predator and human trafficker arrests, and the capture of nine of the Ten Most Wanted fugitives and four of the Most Wanted Fraudsters.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
