When Chris Riggs watched news last week about the outcry over immigrants being voluntarily transported to Martha’s Vineyard, he was first shocked. Then he become infuriated at what he says is a clear double standard toward communities dealing with undocumented immigrants who have come into the U.S.
“It just goes to add proof that there are two systems of government in this country – one for the elite and one for everyone else,” Riggs told KFYI’s James T. Harris on Monday, pointing to the “massive disconnect D.C. has with the average American.”
And Riggs should know.
He is the mayor of Gila Bend, the town of 1,900 people along Interstate 8 between Eloy and Yuma which became ground zero in March 2021 for U.S. Border Patrol agents to dump immigrants in the middle of his town to wait for a Greyhound bus, which was often not scheduled to arrive for hours or even not until the next day.
USBP left the migrants to fend for themselves in a town with no shelter, no regular police patrol, and no emergency medical facility. Riggs, his council, and residents did their best to help but with a per capita income of less than $23,000 and no assistance from federal officials their options were limited.
Gila Bend was eventually removed as a USBP dumping ground after Riggs received national media attention about the problems. However, when Riggs learned of all the help offered to residents of upscale Martha’s Vineyard to deal with 50 or so migrants he admits becoming angry.
It also reinforced his concern that Gila Bend may have been purposely sacrificed by federal authorities, as the town has become a magnet for Cartel activity with little being done to stem the problems.
“Every day we see 50, 100, sometimes more pass through Gila Bend and that’s only the ones we see,” Riggs told Harris of the migrants who find their way in his town. “It’s a regular occurrence to have groups of 20 plus pass right around my home. And it’s not just my place. Everyone is seeing the same thing here.”
The continual problem of human smuggling and drug trafficking has led to a sharp uptick of property crimes, according to the mayor.
“No one wants to have things stolen from them, but when they steal from people that have so little it really has an impact,” Riggs said.
He also reported violent crimes have dramatically increased, including drive-by shootings and homicides, which are Cartel related. Riggs has taken to encouraging residents to obtain a firearm and get trained in its use.
“It is up to the individual to provide for their safety and security,” he told Harris, pointing to the town’s limited resources and options for responding to the Cartel.
Riggs believes USBP agents are doing “the very best they can with the resources they have,” while putting the blame for the situation in Gila Bend directly at the feet of President Joe Biden and his supporters.
“This administration couldn’t give two damns what happens to any community that doesn’t affect them or other elites directly,” Riggs said, adding he “wouldn’t be surprised” to find the current situation in Gila Bend is a sort of payback for Riggs being so outspoken.
“But when things aren’t right, you have to speak up,” he told Harris.
On Friday, Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) turn over all records concerning an Arizona man accused of working as a federal informant: Ray Epps.
In a press release, Gosar said it was suspicious that Epps was never arrested or charged with a crime despite inciting illegal activity. Last January 5 and 6, Epps encouraged and directed protestors to breach the Capitol building.
“If the Department of Justice has nothing to hide and is genuinely interested in what happened on January 6, they should release every piece of information relating to Ray Epps’ involvement on that day,” stated Gosar. “Then and only then will the American people know what really happened.”
The first to question Epps’ January 6 involvement was Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY-04) last October. Massie asked Attorney General Merrick Garland whether federal agents were present and encouraged protestors to go into the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
I questioned Attorney General Garland about whether there were Federal Agents present on 1/6 and whether they agitated to go into the Capitol. Attorney General Garland refused to answer. pic.twitter.com/RHq3Yd2pbu
Further details about Epps’ January 6 involvement were uncovered through investigative reporting by Darren Beattie, Revolver News founder and former White House speechwriter.
Our biggest and most comprehensive investigative piece yet
Meet Ray Epps…the apparent orchestrator of the Capitol breach on 1/6 https://t.co/saTntaxk7O
Epps appeared on the FBI Capitol Violence Most Wanted List within several days of the January 6 riot. The public and mainstream media identified him quickly. However, the FBI didn’t arrest or charge Epps. Last July, they removed Epps from their list.
A year later, this July, TheNew York Times featured Epps in an article discussing how accusations of federal informacy ruined his life. Epps said that he and his wife plan to file a defamation lawsuit against those levying accusations of government collusion. Elsewhere, he cited Revolver News and Fox News’ Tucker Carlson as the main sources of many of his problems.
Epps also claimed to the outlet that he avoided arrest because he reached out to the FBI on January 8, the day that the agency included his picture on their Most Wanted list. After less than an hour on the phone, and a March 2021 in-person interview with federal agents, the FBI reportedly cleared Epps of wrongdoing.
In January, the House’s January 6 Committee revealed that they spoke with Epps. According to their account of the private interview, the committee said that Epps denied any involvement as a law enforcement informant or employee.
The Select Committee is aware of unsupported claims that Ray Epps was an FBI informant based on the fact that he was on the FBI Wanted list and then was removed from that list without being charged.
Epps was the former president of the Oath Keepers Arizona chapter. The Oath Keepers are a militia organization that believes the federal government is controlled by figures attempting to take away American rights. According to archives of the chapter website, Epps served as president from 2011 until at least 2014. Another individual, Gerald Rhoades, served as the chapter’s vice president.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was arrested for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot. Although 10 other Oath Keepers faced charges as well, Epps didn’t.
AZ Free News reached out to Epps for comment, and to ask him about his thoughts on the trials against January 6 participants. He didn’t respond by press time.
Extended Notes on the Timeline:
January 5-6, 2021: In one video, Epps advanced along the path where his group of fellow protestors pushed back the barricade around the Capitol. In another video, Epps declared that he and other protestors were “holding ground” while inside restricted Capitol grounds.
January 8, 2021: The FBI includes Epps in their Capitol Violence Most Wanted list, identified as the now-deleted Photograph #16. Epps claimed in a later interview with New York Times that “a family member” notified him that same day that “the FBI issued a be-on-the-lookout alert in his name.” The FBI never identified Epps by name. Epps told the outlet that he called the FBI tip line to turn himself in, and spoke with agents for less than an hour. Epps wasn’t arrested.
January 11, 2021: The Arizona Republicinterviews Epps. At the time, Epps refused to comment on whether he knew he was on the FBI’s list. Epps denied that he wanted people to go “into the Capitol,” as he said in video evidence, but rather “go in the doors like everyone else. It was totally, totally wrong the way they [the protestors] went in.”
March 2021: Epps reportedly spoke again with federal agents, this time in person. He told them that he tried to calm down protestors, not incite them, as confirmed by a New York Times review of interview transcripts, which weren’t shared.
January 11, 2022: The House’s January 6 Committee discloses that they spoke with Epps, though they don’t publicize the interview. FBI official Jill Sanborn refuses to give details about Epps to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
March 29, 2022: The DOJ promises to provide a “disclosure” about Epps to several individuals facing charges related to the January 6 riot. An attorney for Epps, John Blischak, toldPolitico that Epps provided “a full disclosure” to the House January 6 Committee.
July 13, 2022: New York Times features Epps in “A Trump Backer’s Downfall as the Target of a Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theory,” discussing how allegations of federal conspiracy ruined his life.
August 30, 2022: Shortly after the Mar-a-Lago raid, former President Donald Trump posted a debunked claim about Epps’ wife previously working for Dominion Voting Machines on his Truth Social account. Epps’ wife worked for an unaffiliated company, Dominion Enterprises.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A Californian transgender woman on the board of an organization focused on normalizing child transgenderism plans to launch a private high school that grants college degrees in Phoenix next year.
Ella (née Daniel) Baker, the founder of Pathways Early College Academy (PECA) and board member of Gender Spectrum, also plans to have his students participate in “The Incubator”: academic and behavioral support through daily faculty check-ins that involve “tutoring, mentorship, and general guidance.” Over the past decade, there have been cases of children who grew distant from their parents and became suicidal after faculty challenged their gender identity or secretly aided in their social and physical gender transition.
Abigail Martinez: “I tried to get mental health for my daughter but I was told she didn't need that, she just needed hormone therapy and surgeries and THAT would save her life. I was told not to talk about God to my daughter.” https://t.co/c4lwUVphvVpic.twitter.com/WsCaOA9IcB
It appears that Baker is establishing a Phoenix campus primarily to capitalize on the newly-universalized Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. PECA advertises that it accepts ESA funds, noting that its tuition is $7,000 even — the exact maximum a student may receive under the universal ESA Program. However, tuition increases to $9,800 for the 2023-2024 school year.
“[PECA] is set at the expected state-funded amount so that most families can attend for free,” stated Baker.
Baker’s Gender Spectrum bio includes career highlights not mentioned by his LinkedIn. His professional networking account portrays him as, primarily, an educator: he notes that he managed several educational programs, taught and directed several programs at Maranatha High School in Pasadena, California, and taught at his alma mater, Azusa Pacific University.
However, Baker’s Gender Spectrum bio portrayed his career in education as one focused on transgender activism. He noted that his research focuses on “how institutional climates and policies impact belonging and engagement for transgender communities.” Additionally, he revealed that his education program management duties included serving on a Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) steering committee and overseeing initiatives to eliminate binary dress codes and establish gender neutral restrooms. The bio also disclosed that Baker leads transgender inclusion workshops for faith groups, schools, and businesses.
Baker also had brief stints working for mainstream media outlets: Huffington Post, PBS, and NPR.
During his time at Maranatha High School, a Christian school, Baker was “Daniel” and proclaimed to be a Christian. He founded the Oliver Honors Institute while there, a selective Bible-based classics program (though he omitted any mention of Christianity or the Bible on his LinkedIn description of the school and institute). Although the high school fired Baker once he chose to identify as a woman publicly, Baker still contends that he is a Christian.
An organization claiming to be a Christian church, All Saints Church in Pasadena, California, held a ceremony affirming Baker’s transgender identity on Easter Weekend in 2019.
Baker’s one other PECA colleague, Alden Kiertzner, will serve as the principal and senior director of operations at PECA.
PECA derives its college curriculum from Pathways College, whose Phoenix address is shared by Pathways in Education, a high school charter part of a network of public charter schools located in Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, and Tennessee managed by Pathways Management Group (PMG). Pathways College has another address in Pasadena, California that’s the same as the PECA address.
What if you could graduate high school with a college degree? Now you can with Pathways Early College Academy! pic.twitter.com/2HULue1ru4
Last week, Arizona State University (ASU) launched a hate speech surveillance campaign with assistance from the federal government.
ASU’s McCain Institute received support from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program to launch SCREEN Hate, an effort to monitor youths’ online activity. The institute told parents and caregivers that it was only a matter of time before the minors in their lives were discovered and corrupted by hate online.
“Trusting that your family’s values will protect them is not enough,” warned the campaign site.
The campaign resources came from DHS and leftist organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), UNESCO, Common Sense Media, and the National School Boards Association (NSBA).
The NSBA coordinated with the Biden administration to investigate parents and community members for domestic terrorism based on their school board activism. When reporters discovered this coordination between the DOJ and NSBA, the NSBA issued an apology letter that they later backdated on their website weeks after our reporting pointed out the letter’s absence online. It was only when the NSBA uploaded and backdated its apology letter that they deleted their celebratory press release about the Biden administration heeding their petition to investigate parents.
One of the SPLC resources insinuated that devout Christians constituted extremist beliefs.
“Extremist beliefs say that one group of people is in dire conflict with other groups who don’t share the same racial or ethnic, gender or sexual, religious, or political identity,” stated SPLC. “Extremists believe that this imagined conflict can only be through separation, domination, or violence between groups.”
One resource from UNESCO advises individuals on how to “stop the spread of conspiracy theories.” The organization asserts that the world can’t be divided into objective good or bad, and that no powerful forces with negative intent are secretly manipulating events.
Another resource, from the ADL, framed the 2020 George Floyd riots as peaceful protests, and those opposed to the rioters as white supremacists and extremists. The resource, “White Supremacy Search Trends in the United States,” also claimed that white supremacy was behind the January 6 protest at the Capitol.
Search trends that the ADL deemed “white supremacist” included any inquiries about the truth behind the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization. The organization also declared that search trends reflecting concerns about the “great replacement theory” were rooted in conspiracy. ADL said that Arizona was the third in the top ten states it deemed to have the highest consumption of extremist content.
SCREEN Hate directs individuals to download the “Resilience Net” app in order to access a directory of practitioners who specialize in violence and terrorism prevention. It’s part of the One World Online Resilience Center (OWORC), a DHS-funded initiative from the Massachusetts-based organization founded by Boston Marathon survivors, One World Strong.
SCREEN Hate is the latest initiative of the McCain Institute’s Preventing Targeted Violence Program, which mainly focuses on combating right-wing extremists and white supremacy. The McCain Institute attributes the program’s focus to the DHS declaration that white supremacists were the biggest threat to the U.S., citing the 2020 Homeland Threat Assessment.
The Biden administration has labeled Americans supportive of former President Donald Trump as “MAGA Republicans” that present a “clear and present danger” to the country.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” declared Biden. “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.”
Tonight was a classic example of how different things can look in person versus on TV. In person: Joe Biden at the patriotic cradle of America. On TV: Dark Brandon on his throne of human skulls. pic.twitter.com/uGldLywdVB
During Sunday’s speech commemorating the 21st anniversary of 9/11, Biden alluded to his administration’s focus on rooting out present domestic terror threats at home.
That same day, Vice President Kamala Harris clarified Biden’s intent in a subsequent interview with MSNBC. The pair discussed the Biden administration’s focus on combating the “threat from within,” which Harris concurred was comparable to 9/11.
“I think [that threat] is very dangerous and I think it is very harmful. And it makes us weaker,” said Harris.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A 26-page report detailing multiple concerns with last year’s environmental review of Resolution Copper’s plans to mine in and around the Tonto National Forest means the company won’t be securing its required permits anytime soon.
Water was the subject of concern in the report prepared for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by two hydrogeologists and a hydrologist who reviewed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued in January 2021 as part of Resolution Copper’s permitting efforts under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Resolution Copper began nearly 20 years ago to develop a plan for underground mining roughly 60 miles east of Phoenix, near the town of Superior. It forecasts up to 3,700 direct and indirect jobs over the life of the project, with a payroll of $270 million at full production.
Supporters point to the benefits of improving U.S. domestic copper supply, which significantly lags behind Chile, Peru, and China. Resolution Copper could potentially produce as much as 40 billion pounds of copper over 40 years, with the ability to provide nearly 25 percent of America’s copper demand, the company says.
Most of the land around the mining site is government owned, although some private landowners in the area have wells which could be impacted by the mining, according to the 2021 FEIS report. Those potential private well impacts were not sufficiently addressed in the FEIS, according to the three BLM reviewers.
The water impact issue also raises the question of whether the concerns of private landowners and state water officials are trumped by the federal General Mining Law of 1872, which has long been viewed in Arizona as overriding any local and state interests.
Copper was first discovered in the greater Superior area in 1863 with the first known mine production starting in 1887. But by 1995 copper production ended in the area.
It was also in the mid-1990s that the Resolution Copper deposit was discovered. It would take several years before formal exploration and studies were undertaken.
Then in 2014 Resolution Copper began the process to obtain the necessary permits. That same year it obtained Congressional approval for a land swap which would give the company 2,422 acres of federally owned land in the Tonto National Forest within its project site in exchange for more than 5,300 acres of land Resolution Copper owned across Arizona.
But it would take until January 2021 for the land swap to receive regulatory approval. Then it took until June of this year for the company to prevail in a legal challenge when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected arguments on behalf of various Native American tribal members that the land swap would allow Resolution Copper to interfere with being able to worship at various sacred sites.
The Court also rebuffed legal claims that an 1852 treaty prohibited the mining activity, thus clearing the way for the land swap.
Resolution Copper says it has modified its project boundaries over the years after consultation with federal regulators and 11 Native American Tribes, including the San Carlos Apache. As a result, the company announced it “will forego portions of copper-bearing ore to minimize subsidence impacts” to important areas within the 4,600-acre Oak Flat.
The maximum expected impact area will be less than 1,800 acres at the end of the life of the mine, according to the company.
Resolution Copper will also “forego private ownership and mineral title” to the Apache Leap area at Oak Flat by permanently protecting it as a Special Management Area managed by the U.S. Forest Service. And the company has announced there will be “no physical impact” to another sacred site at Devil’s Canyon.
In the meantime, the U.S. Forest Service approved the company’s plan of operations and an initial environmental assessment in 2016. The agency then published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2019 following dozens of public meetings and consultations, and countless hours spent by both company and government employees trying to satisfy myriad requirements.
Additional review and comments were taken into consideration for the Final Environmental Impact Statement released in January 2021. The FEIS identified alternatives to some of Resolution Copper’s plans and identifies suggested mitigation measures—required and voluntary—to “minimize, reduce, or offset impacts” from the proposed project.
It is that FEIS which has been subject since then to further public and federal reviews, including the one recently conducted by the water experts for BLM.
No deadline has been announced for releasing a new FEIS that would incorporate updated information based on the reviews.
Arizona has the highest inflation rate in the country — making this state the number one victim of President Joe Biden’s inflation crisis.
The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area suffers from 13 percent inflation, according to the latest Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. Nationwide inflation rate sits just over 8 percent.
According to recent polling, the inflation and border crises are of equal importance to Arizona voters.
Top issue for Arizona voters? Border security now tied with inflation. Both winning issues for Rs, but also sign that the worst of the economic malaise behind Biden. pic.twitter.com/KfBz0hHI38
Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AZFEC) President Scot Mussi told AZ Free News that the Biden administration has only worsened the economic woes of Arizonans. Mussi warned that consumers would continue to cut back on major purchases, and business owners would freeze expansions and hiring. He also pointed out that any reductions in inflation weren’t due to the Biden administration’s actions, but instead consumers cutting back.
“It’s pretty clear that the decision makers in Washington want to make this situation worse,” said Mussi. “The recession will continue to linger on until policy makers get serious about runaway spending.”
While Arizonans and the rest of America were taking in the federal government’s latest inflation report on Tuesday, President Joe Biden was celebrating the controversial Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Tune in as I deliver remarks celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act and how it demonstrates government working for the American people. https://t.co/ZDwRFPcDdT
Biden didn’t address how the latest inflation data reflected historic highs. Rather, the president asserted that the effects of inflation were improving, and that the state of the economy should come as good news for Americans.
Today’s data show progress in fighting inflation. This month, prices overall were essentially flat, gas prices were down, and wages were up – that's good news for American families.
My plan is showing we can lower costs, create jobs, and bring manufacturing back to America.
However, not all within Biden’s party agreed that the IRA and other recent actions by the president are wins. In an interview this week, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) refused to affirm that Biden is doing a good job as president. Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) assessed that Kelly treaded carefully due to Biden’s unpopularity among voters.
.@RepAndyBiggsAZ: Mark Kelly "knows that Biden is on the ballot this November and Biden is on the ballot and in Arizona, Biden is incredibly unpopular." @RobFinnertyUSA
Mick McGuire, former Arizona National Guard general and failed senate candidate, told “The Conservative Circus” on Tuesday that Kelly was just as guilty as Biden for failing Arizonans with worsening inflation.
Mussi asserted that the IRA wasn’t anything to celebrate, calling it the “Inflation Destruction Act.” He explained that the IRA wouldn’t reduce inflation. Mussi noted that the government hasn’t even distributed all of the stimulus funds from the American Rescue Plan.
“We haven’t even finished rolling out the Biden COVID recovery act: the $1.9 trillion spending palooza. There’s no discipline right now, and there’s really no end in sight,” said Mussi. “Right now, we’ve hit what would be the definition of a recession. Even if you wanted to use the Biden administration’s viewpoint, at best you could say we’re in a bad state of stagflation. There’s absolutely no growth.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
