Federal prosecutors in Arizona filed immigration-related criminal charges against 279 individuals during a weeklong enforcement operation targeting illegal entry, unlawful reentry, and human smuggling along the southern border.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, the charges were filed between October 10 and October 16, 2026, as part of ongoing federal efforts to combat illegal immigration and human smuggling throughout the state.
During the enforcement period, prosecutors filed 136 cases involving individuals accused of illegally reentering the United States after previously being removed, along with charges against 123 individuals accused of illegally entering the country.
Federal authorities also filed 17 cases against 20 individuals accused of smuggling illegal immigrants into and throughout Arizona.
The cases were referred or supported by several federal law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Among the notable cases highlighted by federal prosecutors were charges filed October 13 against Jesus Manuel Calixtro-Rodriguez and Julio Cesar Ramos-Mendez, who were accused of conspiring to transport illegal immigrants for profit.
According to the criminal complaint, Border Patrol surveillance cameras observed Calixtro-Rodriguez driving a Dodge Ram along Federal Route 15 on the Tohono O’odham Nation on October 10. Authorities reported that he stopped near a location known for human smuggling pickups, where several individuals entered the vehicle.
When Border Patrol agents attempted to conduct an immigration inspection, Calixtro-Rodriguez allegedly refused to stop, prompting agents to deploy a tire deflation device.
The vehicle’s occupants fled on foot, but agents apprehended Calixtro-Rodriguez and three passengers, including Ramos-Mendez. Authorities determined that the passengers were Mexican nationals unlawfully present in the United States.
Investigators identified Ramos-Mendez as the group’s foot guide and discovered that he had previously been removed from the country without authorization to return. He was additionally charged with illegal reentry.
In a separate case, Christopher Paul Lopez was charged on October 9 with transporting an illegal immigrant following an October 8 traffic stop along Interstate 10.
According to federal prosecutors, an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper discovered Lopez lying in the rear of a Land Rover and subsequently recovered a loaded Glock 19 handgun from a bag inside the vehicle.
Following further questioning, authorities suspected that Lopez and the driver were involved in human smuggling. Border Patrol agents later determined that the driver was a Mexican national unlawfully present in the United States and learned that Lopez had allegedly been paid to accompany the driver from Tucson to Phoenix.
Another case involved Jose Avendano-Soto, who was charged on October 13 with transporting an illegal immigrant after Border Patrol agents observed a group crossing the U.S.-Mexico border wall using a rope ladder.
According to the criminal complaint, seven individuals exited an SUV near the border wall on October 8. Five crossed into the United States, while two remained behind to conceal the group’s footprints before returning to Mexico.
Agents later located the five individuals hiding in vegetation while wearing camouflage clothing. Four were identified as Guatemalan nationals and one as a Mexican national, all unlawfully present in the United States.
Investigators identified Avendano-Soto as the group’s foot guide, responsible for leading the individuals across the border.
The cases reflect ongoing federal efforts to prosecute illegal border crossings, unlawful reentry, and human smuggling operations throughout Arizona.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors are publicly airing their grievances against Recorder Justin Heap for notifying federal authorities about election work that took place late one night last week.
Heap’s office immediately contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after learning about a viral post about ballot tabulation center livestream footage in which two county employees were seen working alone after-hours in the facility from about 9 to 11 p.m. on October 7.
In the footage, the employees can be seen inserting flash drives into computers.
🚨BUSTED: Exclusive Video of Maricopa County BOS employees (toddler in tow) in highly secure Ballot Tabulation Center at 10:30pm inserting flash drives into computers (Post L&A) during an active election obtained by our source! Additional video obtained shows 3 hours of activity… pic.twitter.com/EqoOzQR9TY
— We the People USA Alliance (@WethePeopleAZA1) October 9, 2026
The FBI confirmed it investigated Heap’s complaint and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
A week later, on Wednesday, Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee and Vice Chair Debbie Lesko responded to the viral footage with a joint statement denying that the election workers had performed unauthorized work, and said that it wasn’t unusual for employees to work outside traditional business hours in the weeks preceding and following an election.
McGee and Lesko explained that the employees updated software on the ballot duplication system and uploaded election data files to a computer terminal not connected to the internet or ballot tabulation equipment.
After issuing that statement, Brophy McGee spoke with media outlets to criticize Heap for contacting federal authorities.
“Public employees who work in elections already face public threats and intimidation, but it is disgusting that Recorder Heap and his team would add to this climate of fear by referring to the FBI our hardworking county employees who were simply doing their jobs,” said Brophy McGee.
Judy Keane, Heap’s spokeswoman, said the recorder has a duty to request an investigation into any suspicious activity involving elections.
“Suspicious activity occurring within logic and accuracy tested facilities late at night should always be investigated by those with the power to do so. Any notion that it shouldn’t is irresponsible and fails to maintain the highest of standards for Arizona elections,” said Keane.
Supervisor Thomas Galvin called Heap “inept” for notifying authorities of his concerns, and accused him of being a “puppet” of Shelby Busch, the local grassroots activist with We the People AZ who contacted Heap’s office with concerns about the livestream footage. Lesko accused the recorder’s office of attacking “innocent election workers.” Galvin also implied there would be repercussions for those who assisted Heap with contacting the FBI.
“Heap worked w[ith] bad grifting hombres to target one of the BOS’ employees. If any other public official enabled Heap’s latest circus act then there’s Hell to pay,” said Galvin.
Sam Stone, Heap’s chief of staff, later posted on X to reveal that he called the FBI and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office about the after-hours work. Stone said that it was important for public trust in elections to seek an assessment from an official third party, rather than insisting the public rely on the county’s word.
“Did I think anything nefarious was at play in this situation? No,” said Stone. “[But] when questions about potentially fraudulent activity in an election come to light the proper reaction is not for the organization at hand to clear themselves, but to bring in an appropriate outside investigative agency to do it.”
Galvin called Stone “one of the amoral amoebas” within Heap’s office and accused him of “spinning [his] latest stunt.” Stone, in return, accused Galvin of lying.
“[Y]our ‘proof’ there was no wrongdoing in this case is the word of the same team that created the controversy,” said Stone. “You are a crap lawyer, a liar, and unfit for public office.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Federal authorities arrested a third grade teacher in Phoenix on child pornography charges last week.
Gabriel “Gabe” Lorenzo Chacon, 32, taught at Encanto Elementary School in the Osborn School District. Chacon was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and charged with two counts of distributing, possessing, and accessing child pornography.
Investigators report that Chacon was a member of The Ganymedean Brotherhood, a group chat in which users shared child pornography and sexual abuse material, with a focus on babies and infants.
The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operation Unit learned of Chacon after receiving a tip from an undercover law enforcement officer in Australia monitoring The Ganymedean Brotherhood.
In the complaint against Chacon filed with the Arizona District Court, Chacon admitted to authorities that he was in a child pornography group chat and had saved child pornography to a website, but denied ever acting on what he described as his “fantasy.” The illicit files connected to Chacon contained visuals of victims that ranged in age from infants to teenagers.
Messages included in court documents reflect that Chacon appeared to have considered acting on his fantasies. In one message, Chacon asked his group chat what they would do alone in their classrooms if they were teachers. Chacon reportedly sent the message under his handle, “ND Dom,” during parent teacher conferences earlier this month.
“Hey friends, let’s say hypothetically you were a teacher and you had 3 hours to kill alone in your classroom afterschool [sic], what would you do [3 devil emojis],” asked Chacon.
The complaint reported that the undercover officer saw Chacon’s message and began to converse with him in a direct message. Chacon admitted to the officer that he was interested in children 10 years old and younger, mostly boys; revealed that he was a third grade teacher in Phoenix; and divulged that he would give “bj’s” between classes if he could.
Chacon also said he was into “brutal” sex acts with children. Between messaging nude pictures of himself and describing his pedophilic fantasies, Chacon repeatedly expressed his allegiance to Satan.
“Hail satan,” wrote Chacon.
When the undercover officer asked if Chacon had any sexual experience with children, Chacon claimed that he had while he was “babysitting back in high school.”
Chacon also told the officer that education was the perfect employment for alleged child predators such as himself, and that Phoenix was big enough to find “like minded [sic] friends.” Chacon went on to send the officer five videos of pre-pubescent boys being sexually abused by adult men.
“It’s a great gig for brothers like us,” wrote Chacon.
Chacon’s public social media activity indicated that he was a supporter of progressive causes and Democratic candidates, and that he practiced witchcraft.
In one X post, Chacon said he was “vaguely associated with the occult.” On the Reddit forum r/witchcraft, Chacon advised a user that hyacinth, a plant, was “great for curse breaking and love spells” in his practice.
Chacon received his master’s degree in education from Northern Arizona University last year while teaching. Prior to settling in Phoenix, Chacon’s Facebook page reflects that he resided in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Osborn School District issued a statement denying any knowledge of Chacon’s illegal activities. This semester marked Chacon’s third year teaching at Encanto Elementary School. Chacon previously taught at Solano Elementary School.
“We were assured that law enforcement had no information that any Osborn Elementary School students were connected in any way to the reported criminal behavior,” read the statement. “The District is fully cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation. Immediately upon learning of Mr. Chacon’s arrest, the District placed him on administrative leave, restricted his access to district technology and buildings, and reported the information to the Arizona State Board of Education.”
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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.
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.
Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) is calling for greater accountability over decisions by four prosecuting offices to decline charges against a hacker who admitted to exploiting a Maricopa County website and extracting approximately 633,000 voter registration records shortly before the 2020 election.
During an interview with Just the News, Hamadeh said he wants to know which prosecutors were responsible for the decisions after the FBI investigated the breach, identified the suspect, and obtained an admission.
“I’m still curious to know, you know, which attorneys at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, in Maricopa County, Pinal County, declined charges, especially when the FBI referred it and had this case pretty much handed on a platter to these prosecuting agencies, and they all refused,” Hamadeh said.
Every week, more election vulnerabilities get exposed.
Thank God @POTUS, the most transparent president in American history, is finally getting the truth out.
Congressman Hamadeh joined @jsolomonReports to break down the latest Arizona election integrity bombshell.
The…
— Office of Congressman Abe Hamadeh (@RepAbeHamadeh) August 8, 2026
The comments followed the release of declassified FBI records detailing the investigation into the 2020 intrusion. In an Aug. 4 letter, FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators confirmed voter records were illegally extracted from a Maricopa County site and identified a suspect who admitted committing the offense.
According to the FBI, the suspect discovered a vulnerability in the county’s voter registration system, wrote a PowerShell script to exploit it, and illegally scraped approximately 633,000 voter files. About 930 contained sensitive, nonpublic information, Patel wrote.
The affected records included full names, voter identification numbers, and party affiliations. Approximately 930 contained sensitive information involving domestic violence victims, judges, and law enforcement officers. The document said Social Security numbers were not included in the information obtained.
The vulnerability allowed an intruder to place voter identification numbers directly into the website URL and bypass its normal authentication process, according to the FBI. The PowerShell script then automated sequential requests for voter registration information.
Hamadeh said the scale of the breach raises questions about the cybersecurity capabilities of less-populous jurisdictions.
“Maricopa County, which isn’t just the biggest county in Arizona, it’s the fourth biggest county in the entire country,” Hamadeh said during the interview. “So if you have these people, these hackers able to exfiltrate into the data systems of a big county like Maricopa, imagine what they can do to some of these smaller counties that don’t have the cyber tech and the counter cyber measures that Maricopa County may have.”
An FBI interview summary said the suspect first discovered the vulnerability around September 2020 after noticing that his voter identification number appeared in the website URL. He tested other seven-digit numbers and discovered that he could access other voters’ registration information.
The suspect then developed the PowerShell script and initially downloaded between 100 and 1,000 records during a trial run before expanding the operation, according to the FBI. He estimated that he ultimately downloaded between 1 million and 2 million records, while investigators documented approximately 633,000 exfiltrated voter records.
The suspect stored information on personal hard drives and a Google Cloud account before deleting it after becoming concerned about law enforcement consequences, according to the FBI report. He described himself to investigators as a “hacker or tinkerer” and accepted responsibility for his actions.
FBI agents executed a search warrant at the suspect’s Fountain Hills residence on Nov. 5, 2020. According to the bureau’s May 2023 case-closure document, investigators analyzed seized devices and obtained records involving the suspect’s bank, social media, and email accounts.
Investigators concluded that he had developed and operated the PowerShell script and later deleted the extracted information. The FBI said investigators found no indication of domestic or foreign influence over his actions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona declined prosecution. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office also declined the case and advised the FBI that it had presented the matter to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which also declined. Investigators then presented the case to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, which likewise declined prosecution, according to the closure memorandum.
The federal declination occurred July 12, 2021. The released documents do not identify when the other three offices made their decisions.
Because all four prosecuting offices declined the matter, investigators requested closure of the case in May 2023.
Hamadeh said accountability in the case remains unresolved.
“The win that the American people had here in Arizona, especially what we’re still trying to get, is justice,” Hamadeh said during the interview.
Hamadeh also described the intrusion as a “direct attack on democracy” and referred to manipulation of voter files during his remarks. The released FBI documents establish that voter registration information was accessed and exfiltrated; they do not show that the suspect altered voter records, accessed ballots, or changed votes. Just the News also reported that there is no evidence votes were changed as a result of the intrusion.
The newly released records contrast with what Maricopa County officials publicly said about the incident during the aftermath of the 2020 election. In July 2021, county officials told Capitol Media Services that the intruder had accessed a voter registration website but had not penetrated the server storing voter registration records, and said only voter registration numbers had been obtained without access to personal information. The FBI records released this week state that approximately 633,000 voter registration records were exfiltrated and that about 930 contained sensitive voter information.
Hamadeh has made election security a legislative priority in Congress. He urged the Senate in July to pass the SAVE America Act, after the House previously passed the measure and subsequently advanced its provisions through other legislative vehicles. The legislation would require proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration and identification to cast a ballot in federal elections.
