by Jonathan Eberle | Jun 14, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Governor Katie Hobbs has named Brigadier General John Conley as the new Adjutant General of Arizona and Director of the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA).
In his new position, Brig. Gen. Conley will oversee the full scope of DEMA operations, including Arizona’s Army and Air National Guard units, Joint Task Force, Administrative Services, and the state’s Division of Emergency Management. The appointment comes as Arizona continues to contend with challenges related to border security, emergency preparedness, and the flow of illicit drugs into the state.
“Brigadier General Conley is a distinguished leader, accomplished lawyer, and dedicated public servant,” said Governor Hobbs in a statement. “As The Adjutant General and Director of DEMA, Conley will build on our efforts to secure the border and protect Arizona communities.”
Brig. Gen. Conley has more than 30 years of commissioned service in both the Army and Air National Guard. For the past 14 years, he has held key roles within the Arizona National Guard, including his most recent position as Director of Administrative Services for DEMA. There, he managed critical support functions such as personnel, finance, and mission planning for the Guard and Emergency Management Division.
Conley also previously served as the senior legal advisor for the Arizona National Guard, overseeing Judge Advocates and legal personnel across all service components. His work included the development of military cyber operations, where he played a pivotal role in establishing interagency cybersecurity partnerships with the FBI and the Arizona Department of Administration.
“I’m honored that Governor Hobbs has selected me to lead the Arizona National Guard and DEMA,” said Conley. “Throughout my career, I have been driven by a desire to defend our country and to keep people safe. I look forward to continuing to serve Arizonans alongside the exceptional men and women of DEMA.”
Conley’s appointment comes at a time when Arizona faces heightened scrutiny over border security and public safety.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jun 12, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona’s embattled Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs is facing new scorn and a veto override threat from Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Steve Montenegro after what Rep. Michael Way (R-LD15) called her “most disgraceful veto yet,” of the Antisemitism in Education Act. The act, known also as HB 2867, was passed by the legislature on June 4th. If enacted, it would have “prohibit(ed) teachers, administrators, and university faculty from promoting antisemitism or forcing students to support antisemitic viewpoints in exchange for credit or advancement.” It also would have prohibited the use of public funds for “antisemitic instruction, training, or programming.”
The seemingly straightforward bill, sponsored by Way, was expected to meet with Hobbs’ approval with the Republican saying Wednesday, “This should be an easy decision for the governor. The Legislature has done its job. The public supports this. Now it’s up to the governor to do hers and show that Arizona won’t tolerate antisemitism in public education.”
But this wasn’t to be. Hobbs panned the bill, armed with a letter from Lori Shepherd of The Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center in which she emphasized inviting students “to ask tough questions about the legacy of the Holocaust today… that often touch on the history of Zionism, the founding of the State of Israel, and the persistence of global antisemitism.”
Hobbs claimed, “This bill is not about antisemitism; it’s about attacking our teachers.” She added, “It puts an unacceptable level of personal liability in place for our public school, community college, and university educators and staff, opening them up to threats of personally costly lawsuits.”
She contended the bill, “sets a dangerous precedent that unfairly targets public school teachers while shielding private school staff,” and characterized it as an attempt by the legislature to “single out and attack our public education system.”
Rep. Way quickly took to X to express his outrage writing, “In her most disgraceful veto yet, Governor Hobbs struck down a bipartisan bill to stop antisemitism in Arizona schools. I am deeply disappointed by her decision—paying lip service to opposing antisemitism while backing away from a law with real teeth. Instead of standing with Jewish students and faculty, she sided with those who promote hate and hostility on campus. This bill was aimed at prohibiting the teaching of egregious and blatant antisemitic content. To suggest that it threatened the speech of most Arizona teachers is disingenuous at best. House Republicans acted to confront antisemitism—Hobbs’ veto protects it. I will continue to stand with the Jewish community in Arizona and in my district to ensure taxpayer dollars are never used to fund violent political indoctrination.”
Speaker Steve Montenegro addressed the veto as well just over an hour later in a statement posted to X, vowing to move to a veto override before the end of the legislative session. He wrote, “Katie Hobbs has issued hundreds of misguided vetoes to date, but THIS one bolstering the hateful teachings of antisemitism in public school classrooms takes the cake. Every child deserves a quality education free of the abhorrent rhetoric that promotes hostility toward our Jewish communities. This veto is beyond the pale, and the House WILL proceed with a veto override before this session adjourns.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Andy Biggs | Jun 10, 2025 | Opinion
By Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) |
When the history of America is written, it will certainly have a section on our global rivalry with our first existential threat of the twenty-first century: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In that narrative, we’ll be reminded of the leadership of President Donald J. Trump who has taken the fight to communists who wish to see our nation collapse. When I am the next governor of Arizona, I’ll follow the President’s lead by working with the State Legislature to get a bill prohibiting the ownership of real property in Arizona by the Chinese government passed and signed into law within the first 60 days of my administration.
Unfortunately, right now our country is stuck with too many weak politicians like Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who has failed to stand up to China and protect Arizonans.
Through subversion, cutouts, and espionage, China has attempted to infiltrate the United States and develop surveillance capabilities within our own borders. The CCP’s most recently emergent strategy is to purchase land in the United States, preferably near sensitive military sites and energy infrastructure, to garner intelligence.
At the federal level, I cosponsored the No American Land for Communist China Act to address this problem. Many states are also taking action to proscribe purchases to prevent potential probing by the Chinese government. Arizona’s Legislature recently passed, with exclusively Republican votes, Senate Bill 1109, which safeguarded the United States.
The bill makes clear that the purpose is to protect critical infrastructure, and to, “…protect this state from global security threats and halt or reverse the influence operation of the Chinese Communist Party that poses a risk to the national security of the United States.”
As you might expect, you cannot find a Democrat who supported this national security bill. Nor would you be surprised to see that Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill.
Why would Governor Hobbs permit our nation’s enemy, and make no mistake that China’s hegemonic ambition defines it as more than an economic competitor, to purchase lands in our state?
Arizona has one of the largest nuclear power plants in the United States. We have multiple dams that ensure Arizona’s water needs are met, as well as military training facilities used by our services and allies. Our state is home to a huge aerospace and defense complex, with military bases housing advanced military machinery and personnel. Our state’s high-tech industry has grown businesses and fostered talent from across the state and country to become a global giant.
Protecting these assets takes strong leadership, but Governor Hobbs has shown to be weak and indecisive when it comes to protecting Arizonans.
She has failed to recognize the CCP threat that has come across our border, which includes Chinese students attending universities that have been arrested for spying on U.S. military bases. The Chinese military has made scale mock-ups of U.S. aircraft carriers ostensibly to train on how to defeat them. And Chinese bellicosity over Taiwan included a demand that the Chinese military prepare to go to war.
And we’ll never forget the most pronounced example of Chinese surveillance in America when a spy balloon was permitted to float over U.S. airspace, oddly taking a course that flew directly over several sensitive United States military assets before being destroyed over the Atlantic Ocean.
Joe Biden failed to act and keep our nation secure, just like his good friend Governor Katie Hobbs has failed to protect the best interests of Arizonans.
The comparisons between Hobbs and Biden are too similar to ignore: weak, timid, and unable to take action that puts our citizens ahead of foreign threats.
Arizona needs a strong, decisive leader who knows what it takes to keep our state safe. It’s clear now that Katie Hobbs would rather protect the CCP than Arizonans.
Rep. Andy Biggs serves Arizona’s Fifth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is currently running for Governor of Arizona in the 2026 election.
by Matthew Holloway | Jun 10, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona’s Republican Senate leadership issued a sharp condemnation of the violent anti-immigration enforcement riots, still raging in Los Angeles in a Monday press release. They also issued a direct call for Arizona’s Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes to “cooperate with the Trump Administration with enforcing federal immigration laws to keep Arizona communities safe from harm.”
According to Fox10 Phoenix, an anti-ICE protest took place in Phoenix near the Capitol building, but despite claiming to stand “in solidarity” with the violent rioters in LA, remained largely peaceful.
Senate President Warren Petersen said in the statement, “What’s unfolding in California under their radical leftist government is an atrocity. These are not protests. These are violent riots being carried out by criminal thugs with no regard for public safety. If protests here in Arizona escalate to rioting, the Hobbs Administration and Attorney General Mayes must be prepared to take action. I am calling on the governor and the attorney general to honor the oath of office they swore to uphold by cooperating with the Trump Administration on enforcement of federal immigration laws, deportations of criminal illegal aliens, and to hold accountable those who violate state laws when demonstrations spiral out of control.”
“Complete and total chaos is ensuing in California, and Democrat elected officials, including Arizona’s own Governor Hobbs, are banding together in support of this violence,” said President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope. “It is maddening that Hobbs would sign onto a letter from California’s Gruesome Newsom speaking out against President Trump for deploying the National Guard to protect American citizens from harm. Newsflash, Governor Hobbs- it’s not ‘an alarming abuse of power’ for a president to take this action to stop violent rioters. Federal law allows it.”
“Californians have found themselves in the middle of a warzone. I’m grateful the Trump Administration has mobilized the national guard, as well as marines, to stop the riots and restore order so that ICE agents can do their jobs,” said Senate Majority Whip Frank Carroll. “Anyone who harms our citizens, our law enforcement, or our military must be held accountable under the full force of the law. Arizona Senate Republicans stand with police officers, ICE agents, and our military members to ensure this violence does not spread across state lines or develop within Arizona.”
Responding to the Phoenix protest, a Phoenix Police spokesman said, “The Phoenix Police Department became aware of a group of individuals expressing their views near 10th Avenue and Van Buren this evening around 6:00 p.m. The group marched through portions of the downtown area and ultimately returned to where it began on Van Buren Street. Phoenix Police Officers along with Department of Public Safety Troopers were present and closed down streets after it was observed the group was walking in the roadway. Our duty continues to be ensuring the safety of all involved while treating everyone with dignity and respect.”
Rioting in Los Angeles, which began near the ICE detention center downtown and the Paramount neighborhood, escalated since Friday with numerous law enforcement vehicles damaged, officers injured, and several Waymo autonomous vehicles burned leading to the deployment of 2,000 National Guard Troops to protect federal property and personnel. By Monday, the deployment has ramped up to 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 United States Marines from nearby Camp Pendelton over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, Hobbs, and other Democrat politicians who called the deployment “ineffective and dangerous.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Jun 9, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Governor Katie Hobbs came out in support of the anti-deportation rioters that took to the streets in Los Angeles, California, over the weekend.
Hobbs signed onto a statement with California Governor Gavin Newsom and all other Democratic governors in the country opposing President Donald Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard to stop the Los Angeles riots as “an alarming abuse of power […] ineffective and dangerous.”
The joint statement also demonized Trump for promising to send Marines into neighborhoods to keep the peace.
“Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement,” stated Hobbs and the Democratic governors. “It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation.”
Trump said border czar Tom Homan should arrest Newsom on Monday after returning to the White House from Camp David, calling the governor “ a nice guy [but] grossly incompetent.”
On Saturday, the president issued a proclamation calling federal service members and National Guard units to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal personnel enforcing immigration law from ongoing anti-deportation protests. The president’s deployment of 2,000 troops was in response to protests triggered by federal immigration raids in California. 300 National Guard members deployed to Los Angeles.
While the exact number of arrests in the Los Angeles riots remains unknown, reports from the New York Times and NBC News indicate well over 150 were arrested in total from Friday throughout the weekend.
Hobbs has consistently been against immigration enforcement. The governor demanded answers from the Department of Homeland Security after ICE detained illegal immigrants attending immigration hearings in Phoenix last month. Hobbs said those who migrated illegally weren’t “criminals” and shouldn’t be detained.
“We need to prioritize efforts to deport criminals and secure the border,” said Hobbs. “Indiscriminately rounding up people following the rules won’t make us safer.”
Protesters also took to the streets in Phoenix on Sunday, though Fox News reporters on the ground for this protest indicated it remained peaceful.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) organized the Phoenix protest. In a statement to social media, PSL called for an end to immigration enforcement efforts and the release of one Phoenix-area illegal immigrant, Joel Gutierrez.
“Hundreds of Arizonans are in the streets to demand an END to the racist ICE raids and the release of Joel Gutierrez, a father who was detained this past week,” stated PSL.
As of this report, Gutierrez’s family has raised nearly $4,300 of the $15,000 goal on GoFundMe for lawyer’s fees and living expenses. ICE detained Gutierrez on his way to work, an outcome his family implies was not due to his choice to immigrate to the U.S. illegally but being “at the wrong place at the wrong time.” His family claims Gutierrez is their sole provider.
PSL — which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party — has consistently organized its protests to appear around coordinated ICE detainments. They and other leftist groups have taken to the streets multiple times this year to protest Trump’s immigration enforcement.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
