by Staff Reporter | Jan 15, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Residents in one Arizona city have been drinking nearly double the “safe” level of arsenic in their water for a year.
The city of Williams mailed a notice to residents in December that their drinking water levels contained an average of 17 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic over the past year. The standard for arsenic is 10 ppb, as set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
City officials say it’s not an emergency. However, the notice did warn those with a severely compromised immune system or an infant, or those who are pregnant or elderly, should talk to healthcare providers before drinking the water.
The notice also advised that exposure over time to an excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of arsenic could face nerve damages or even cancers down the road.
“Some people who drink water containing arsenic in excess of the MCL over many years could experience skin damage or problems with circulatory system, and many have an increased risk of getting cancer,” said the notice.
Recognized arsenic-linked cancers include bladder, lung, skin, kidney, nasal, liver, and prostate cancers.
The EPA recognizes non-cancer effects of arsenic to include: thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness preceded by a tingling sensation in the hands and feet, partial paralysis, and blindness.
Arsenic is odorless and tasteless.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (AZDEQ) maintains a page dedicated to updated water compliance notices.
12 of the 15 counties presently have public notices about noncompliance with drinking water safety listed.
San Simon DWID (Cochise County) reported excess fluoride levels around September.
Payson Water (Gila County) reported excess nitrate levels in January 2024. The company pledged to resolve the issue within six to 12 months, yet their public notice remains active on AZDEQ’s site.
C.S. Verde Lee Water (Greenlee County) also reported excess arsenic levels in May 2024. Compared to Williams, their excess was much smaller: 11 ppb, one ppb over the EPA cap.
La Paz County had three water companies report excess contaminants. Cibola Mutual Water Company reported excess Total trihalomethanes, or TTHM; Cienega Water Company reported excess fluoride; and Desert Sky DWID was listed but the linked exceedance report redirected to the Cienega Water Company exceedance report.
Maricopa County had three water companies report excess contaminants: ADOT Burn Well Rest Area, Apache Lake Marina, and Grandview Water Company all reported excess nitrate.
Riverbound Custom Storage and RV (Mohave County) reported excess arsenic as well, in October. Their levels totaled 15 ppb.
Pinedale Estates (Navajo County) reported excess selenium in November 2023. Their levels were 330 ppb, far above the federal standard of 50 ppb. The company provided alternate water at a new well pending construction for a new water line.
Pinal County had six companies report excess contaminants. Desert Gardens RV Park reported excess arsenic and Kelvin Simmons Coop reported excess LCR; CS Carter Water Company, Maricopa Mountain, New Saddleback Vista, and Papago Butte all reported excess nitrate.
ADOT Border Patrol (Santa Cruz) reported excess nitrate.
Yavapai County reported seven smaller providers with excess contaminants. Beaver Creek School, Cordes Junction Motel RV Park, Manzanita Restaurant, Mountain Vu RV Courtyard, Softwinds Mobile Home Park, and White Horse Ranch Owners Association all reported excess nitrate; and Green Valley Mobile Home Park reported excess arsenic.
Several violations within Yuma County exceeded the arsenic contaminants reported recently by the city of Williams.
CS Citrus Park Water Company reported excess arsenic and fluoride in April 2024, with arsenic levels averaging 18.5 ppb. CS El Prado Water Company reported excess arsenic levels averaging 21.2 ppb in February 2025.
Other violations include the town of Wellton and Mohawk Valley School (TTHM), and CS Rancheros Bonitos and CS Tierra Mesa Estates (uranium).
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 13, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A former Tucson councilman’s pornographic and violent past has resurfaced again amid his newly launched state senate race.
Tucson Councilman Rocque Perez advocated for the harm and murder of his political opponents and promoted pornography in the years immediately leading up to his foray into politics. Perez has since deleted all of the incriminating posts.
AZ Free News covered Perez’s rhetoric in October. These posts were made in 2020, around the time that Perez was a student body senator for the University of Arizona.
Perez advised his friend to murder conservative family members:
“So kill them, do your duty baby girl,” posted Perez.
Perez threatened to murder a classmate defending President Donald Trump:
“This vapid white girl is defending Trump[’s] response to COVID in my Zoom public relations class, do I end her or do I end her,” posted Perez.
Perez called for the assassination of Ivanka Trump:
“Someone throw this b***h off the capitol building roof please,” posted Perez.
Perez threatened to assault Trump if given the opportunity.
“Honestly I would take one for the team and knock him out if I could,” posted Perez.
Perez also wished for Trump to die from COVID-19, in multiple posts.
Perez called for the assault of conservative activist and pundit Kaitlin Bennett:
“How has she not gotten beat yet? Like… hath no one the bravery to literally hurt her cause…?” posted Perez.
Perez threatened to stab Trump voters:
“Roses are red, violets are blue, vote for Joe Biden, or I’ll cut you,” posted Perez.
Although Perez has ceased posting the caliber of violent rhetoric of his past, his actions indicate that he still holds the sentiments that inspired those deleted posts.
On Friday, Perez participated in a vigil for Renée Nicole Good, the Minnesota woman and anti-ICE activist fatally shot by law enforcement after driving her car in the direction of an ICE agent.
Along with advocating for assault and murder, Perez posted pornographic videos and pictures to promote his OnlyFans account.
In one of the posts, Perez claimed he engaged in sexual activities with an unnamed male professor and was later solicited by the professor’s husband.
In another post made in March 2021, Perez claimed to have masturbated while at work at the University of Arizona.
“Guys I’m so horny I might jerk off somewhere at work, stay tuned,” posted Perez. “Update: loads of bro butter at work.”
Both Perez’s personal and porn accounts were public. As a result, at least one minor engaged with Perez’s work. The California Globe uncovered in a report that one minor at the time, now a staffer for Tucson Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, engaged with Perez’s porn account.
Although his pornography was public and clearly visible to minors, Perez would go on to become executive director for a nonprofit directly involved with minors: the Metropolitan Education Commission (MEC), created by Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva. MEC advises and makes recommendations on K-12 education for all of Pima County.
Perez launched his state senate campaign in December, around when his six-month appointment to the Tucson City Council came to an end.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 12, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A proposed bill in the Arizona legislature would require members of the clergy to report any crimes admitted to them in confession.
The bill by Minority House Whip Stacey Travers, HB 2039, would expand the duty to report to religious leaders, specifically naming clergymen, priests, and Christian Science practitioners. Travers attempted to run the bill, without success, for every legislative session since coming into office in 2023.
Religious leaders would be held liable in a civil action should they fail to report not only ongoing but any potential future abuse of minors that has yet to occur. This failure to report would kick in if “reasonable suspicion” exists that “dependency, physical injury, abuse, child abuse, or abandonment is ongoing or that dependency, physical injury, abuse, child abuse, or abandonment may occur in the future.”
The bill would also remove the requirement for religious leaders to obtain consent from the individual making their confession before reporting to authorities.
“A member of the clergy, a Christian Science practitioner or a priest who has knowledge or a reasonable suspicion that a person is committing or may commit child abuse or neglect shall immediately report or cause reports to be made of this information to a peace officer, to the Department of Child Safety or to a tribal law enforcement or social services agency for any Indian minor who resides on an Indian reservation, except if the report concerns a person who does not have care, custody or control of the minor, the report shall be made to a peace officer only. This subsection does not apply to a confidential or penitential communication unless the member of the clergy, a Christian Science practitioner or a priest determines that the abuse or neglect is still occurring or will occur in the future.”
Punishments would vary depending on the proposed violations.
Those who fail to report a reportable offense (sexual offenses outlined within 13-1401 through 13-1430 of Arizona Code; obscenity; furnishing harmful items; surreptitious photographing, videotaping, filming, or digitally recording or viewing a minor; child sex trafficking; incest; or unlawful mutilation) would be charged with a class six felony.
All other violations of the bill would qualify as a misdemeanor.
Congressman Andy Biggs, a Mormon, said he was not shocked that a Democratic lawmaker was behind the bill.
“A terrible attack on Catholics in Arizona by, of course, a Democrat,” said Biggs. “This bill should never see the light of day.”
When Travers first introduced the proposed bill in 2023, she said it was Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS) who asked her to file it following the case of a Bisbee man, Paul Adams, who continued to rape his daughters for years after confessing his crimes to a Mormon bishop. Adams’ suicide brought his crimes to light.
“I picked up the mantle because I had LDS constituents come to me,” said Travers in an interview with Capitol Media Services.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 11, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A new bill to increase the penalty for assaulting ICE agents became more timely in light of recent events.
The Protect and Respect ICE Act, or “PRICE” Act, was introduced last September. Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh assisted with shaping and rolling out the bill.
The bill amends Section 111 of Title 18 of the federal code. Individuals who forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any individual engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties would have their punishment doubled.
“In the case of [violence] committed against an officer or employee of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the applicable maximum term of imprisonment under this section shall be doubled, and the applicable maximum fine shall be adjusted accordingly,” stated the proposed bill.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice that attacks against ICE officers increased by an “unprecedented” 1,300 percent. Vehicular attacks on agents increased by 3,200 percent.
Officials reported nearly 300 assaults on ICE agents last year, compared to less than 20 under the final year of the Biden administration in 2024. Additionally, there were nearly 70 vehicular attacks on ICE agents last year. In 2024, there were only two.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blamed rhetoric from the “sanctuary politicians”: state and local leadership attempting to thwart immigration enforcement efforts.
“This unprecedented increase in violence against law enforcement is a direct result of sanctuary politicians and the media creating an environment that demonizes our law enforcement and encourages rampant assaults against them,” said McLaughlin. “Dangerous criminals — whether they be illegal aliens or U.S. citizens — are assaulting law enforcement and turning their vehicles into weapons to attack law enforcement.”
DHS provided some examples of the end results of assaults on ICE agents. One ICE officer sustained a gaping wound on his mouth after an illegal immigrant hit him with a metal coffee cup, and another ICE officer was bitten while arresting an individual.
Multiple groups of ICE officers have endured near-fatal or fatal shootings during enforcement efforts. Multiple officers have been in car wrecks after being targeted by anti-ICE activists and illegal aliens.
Increased aggressions have resulted in deadlier encounters for both ICE agents and activists.
DHS issued their press release the day after an “ICE Watch” activist, Renee Nicole Good, was shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after driving her vehicle toward an agent. It is believed Good was attempting to evade apprehension by agents during an immigration enforcement effort. Good moved to Minneapolis last year.
Minnesota’s ICE Watch activists operate by tracking and disrupting ICE raids throughout the city. Good’s wife, a woman named Rebecca Good, was also present to resist ICE immigration enforcement efforts.
As claimed by DHS, Anti-ICE Minnesotan activists like Goodwin were acting consistently with the rhetoric of their elected leaders. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called ICE the “Gestapo.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded to Good’s shooting by demanding that ICE “get the f**k out of Minneapolis.”
The New York Post reported that Good was active with the anti-ICE group through her child’s “social justice education” charter school.
The pair moved to Minneapolis after briefly leaving the country for Canada following President Donald Trump’s election in 2024, per KMBC.
The shooting remains under 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 | Jan 10, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Congressman Andy Biggs is revisiting the promises allegedly broken by Governor Katie Hobbs to kick off the 2026 election fight. Biggs is seeking to unseat Hobbs.
Many of those allegedly broken promises had to do with Hobbs’ claims of bipartisanship. Hobbs promised repeatedly on the campaign trail that she would work with Republicans on certain issues.
One of those promises was that she wouldn’t veto a ban on food taxes.
Hobbs told Arizona PBS that she wouldn’t prioritize partisanship over good policy.
“I’m not going to say no to anything if there’s a way to provide relief for Arizonans,” said Hobbs.
However, within months of taking office Hobbs vetoed a Republican-led bill to ban taxation on food. In her veto letter, Hobbs said the municipalities’ concerns about funding sources without a food tax were reasonable, and that the elimination of the tax wouldn’t take place immediately or eliminate overall costs for residents anyhow.
“From potential cuts to service — including public safety — to increased property taxes, it’s clear that this bill doesn’t actually eliminate costs for our residents. It simply moves those costs around,” wrote Hobbs.
Hobbs also claimed she wouldn’t support a food tax ban because federal welfare recipients, being tax-exempt, wouldn’t feel any of the benefits of a tax elimination.
“[This bill] does nothing for the more than 800,000 Arizonans who use SNAP and WIC benefits for their groceries, as these constituents are already exempt from the tax,” said Hobbs.
Governor Hobbs’ party-line approach to the state’s executive branch as evidenced by the food ban veto has prompted criticisms and friction with the GOP-controlled legislature. The results have devastated many of the priority bills favored by House and Senate Republicans. The governor has repeatedly broken records for the highest number of vetoes in a single legislative session and executive term.
Hobbs vetoed over 180 bills after her first year in office, and again around 180 bills this past year in 2025. Previously, the record high was 181 vetoes — but over the course of six years under former Governor Janet Napolitano, the last Democrat to hold the office before Hobbs.
When Hobbs initiated efforts for her reelection campaign early last year, she again sought to frame herself as a bipartisan agent.
Hobbs launched a border task force that resembled the one launched by her Republican predecessor, Doug Ducey. This move represented a flip from her initial stance scaling back support for federal immigration enforcement, which included the dissolution of Ducey’s border task force.
Hobbs’ team claimed her border team differed from Ducey’s, but the two were virtually the same.
The governor also restored an agency leader picked by Ducey and dumped by her. Hobbs had initially selected the former Arizona Food Bank Network CEO Angie Rodgers for director of the Department of Economic Security. Hobbs changed her mind early last year and reinstalled Ducey’s pick, Michael Wisehart.
Hobbs also selected another Ducey administration veteran, Katie Ptak, for director over the Department of Child Safety.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
