by Matthew Holloway | Dec 15, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), a declared candidate for Arizona governor in 2026, has accused Tucson Mayor Regina Romero of encouraging obstruction of a federal law-enforcement operation after she posted on social media during active immigration enforcement last week.
In a post on X that drew hundreds of reactions, Biggs criticized Romero for alerting residents to the presence of a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operation near Flowing Wells and Miracle Mile on the morning of Dec. 10.
“Unbelievable,” Biggs wrote. “Why is the mayor of Tucson encouraging obstruction of a lawful federal police operation? Could it be because she favors those who are illegally in the country over American citizens?”
Biggs’ post included a screenshot of a Facebook message Romero published during the operation. In the post, Romero told residents that federal agents were active in the Miracle Mile area and urged people to remain peaceful while protesting or documenting the activity.
“You have the right to protest and document these activities,” Romero wrote. “It is very important to remain peaceful while you do.”
Romero later defended the post in comments on KOLD News 13, saying the alert was intended to calm the situation and keep the community informed about ongoing immigration enforcement activity. “I just want to make sure that we don’t provoke any confrontations,” Romero said.
Reaction locally was mixed, with some residents praising transparency and others questioning whether publicly sharing the location of an active law enforcement operation could endanger agents or allow enforcement targets to evade arrest.
Video of Romero’s Facebook post and surrounding commentary circulated widely on social media, including a clip shared by Libs of TikTok, which amplified both the mayor’s message and Biggs’ criticism.
According to federal officials cited by local media, the Dec. 10 enforcement action involved executing a search warrant at a business park near Flowing Wells and Miracle Mile, which includes AG Trucking, as part of an investigation into alleged cabotage violations and unlawful labor practices.
The Dec. 10 action marked the second major federal enforcement operation in Tucson in less than a week.
On Dec. 5, HSI, working with IRS Criminal Investigation, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, and U.S. Border Patrol, executed 16 federal search warrants across southern Arizona, according to ICE. The coordinated operation targeted multiple Taco Giro restaurant locations, associated residences, and other properties as part of a multiyear investigation into a transnational criminal organization.
Federal authorities reported that 46 individuals were taken into custody on immigration-related allegations, along with two additional arrests connected to interference with law enforcement activity during the Dec. 5 operation.
Protests erupted outside a Taco Giro location at 610 N. Grande Ave., where demonstrators temporarily blocked federal agents inside a gated parking area using a bike lock. According to Fox News, agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and smoke grenades to disperse the crowd. Two HSI Special Response Team operators were injured during the incident, one suffering a ruptured bicep and another a knee injury.
The Tucson Police Department assisted with traffic control during the incident but did not deploy force, according to a statement cited by Tucson.com.
U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07) later claimed she was pepper-sprayed while attempting to gather information at the scene, referring to ICE as “a lawless agency under this Administration – operating with no transparency, no accountability, and open disregard for basic due process.”
Mayor Romero and Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz condemned the federal response, in statements to AZ Luminaria, describing the deployment of smoke grenades and pepper balls as a “disproportionate use of force” against protesters, including an elected member of Congress.
Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin stated, however, that Grijalva was in the vicinity of protesters who were obstructing officers, but was not directly targeted by federal agents.
She wrote in a post to X, “If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who *was* pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement. In fact, 2 law enforcement officers were seriously injured by this mob that @Rep_Grijalva joined. Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement. More information forthcoming.”
Two protesters from the Dec. 5 incident, Sheryl Anna Rowe and Ryan Michael Seal, now face federal charges, according to KOLD. Rowe is charged with assault on a federal agent, while Seal faces charges related to damage to government property.
The raids led to temporary closures at seven Taco Giro locations as of Thursday. As of this report, no criminal charges have been announced in connection with either the Dec. 5 or Dec. 10 enforcement actions beyond the protest-related cases.
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 | Dec 5, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
An art exhibit at Northern Arizona University (NAU) allegedly displayed a poster mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The poster depicts the Turning Point founder and former CEO in a black and white screenprint, surrounded by blood red. A Nazi symbol follows the directory of the fatal bullet that went through Kirk’s neck. Beneath, the artist included the phrase, “Cowabummer,” a slang term used to express sarcastic empathy.
The artist signed only their initials: “A.S.”
The original poster of the print, Libs of TikTok, didn’t indicate where the print was displayed on campus, or when, but that a follower had sent it.
There were several recent art exhibits at NAU.
From mid-September until Thanksgiving Day, the Clara M. Lovett Art Museum featured the exhibit “Prints. People. Power.” The exhibit featured prints from three artist collectives, only one of which remains active: Arizona Print Group.
Additionally, NAU’s Beasley Gallery is featuring Resonance: BFA Capstone Exhibition to showcase graduating BFA candidates from NAU’s School of Art + Design. The exhibition launched Nov. 21 and will last until Dec. 12.
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University, nearly a month to the day before his 32nd birthday. The man charged with Kirk’s assassination, Tyler James Robinson, was politically aligned with progressives, especially on issues pertaining to LGBTQ+ culture and ideologies.
Robinson was in a homosexual relationship with another man, Lance Twiggs, who identified as a woman and was in the process of transitioning genders.
Robinson is scheduled for in-person oral arguments on Jan. 16 and 30. His legal team asked the judge to limit media coverage in the courtroom due to concerns for a right to fair trial; the judge did impose restrictions on filming and photography to prevent further public exposure to the image of Robinson wearing shackles.
Rep. Eli Crane said if the print were indeed featured in an NAU art gallery, then NAU was “another shameful example of what’s wrong with higher education in America.”
As with many other college campuses across the country, NAU students have been captured on film targeting TPUSA tables with vandalization, theft, and threats on violence.
One student vandalized a table and stole a sign. Another handed the table workers a note with a death threat depicting Kirk’s assassination.
“A good Nazi is a dead one,” said the note. “Free speech!”
As far as public reporting goes, NAU has yet to address these incidents.
As of last month, TPUSA reported receiving around 350,000 new student registrations and over 135,000 new chapter requests.
Efforts to establish chapters on campuses have been met with resistance at high schools and postsecondary institutions, in large part due to TPUSA’s Professor Watchlist. The list documents professors accused of discriminating against conservative students.
Only one NAU professor is on the TPUSA Professor Watchlist: Heather Martel, an associate professor of history and associate faculty in the women’s and gender studies program.
Martel made the watchlist after telling a student in her history class that he wasn’t allowed to read the Bible before class in 2017.
Kirk was last on NAU’s campus in October 2024 as part of his “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour.” This latest tour, which was his last, was titled “The Great American Comeback Tour.”
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by Matthew Holloway | Sep 4, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
On Saturday, in a video recorded at the ICE Eloy Detention Center, Arizona Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ03) again falsely described the illegal aliens held there as her “constituents.”
In the political spectacle, a repeat of Ansari’s controversial visit in July, the congresswoman accused the facility of holding her “constituents, who are trapped inside,” claiming there is “dehumanizing, racist, unacceptable treatment happening inside the Eloy Detention Center that is run by a private company called Core Civic.”
Ansari cited the ongoing case of a foreign national known as ‘Yari,’ identified by ABC15 as Arbella Rodríguez Márquez. Yari is a U.S resident whose green card was revoked after being denied parole on human smuggling charges in July and suffers from Leukemia.
Ansari claimed that Rodríguez Márquez has not received “proper medical treatment,” however, these allegations have been repeatedly refuted by the Department of Homeland Security DHS. Assistant Secretary of the DHS Tricia McLaughlin stated in a post to X:
In her remarks, Ansari said that “the accusations against [Rodríguez Márquez] are egregious,” and that she “was a green-card holder.” But she continues to refer to the foreign national as a “constituent,” despite a statement from a DHS spokesman in July that firmly rejects Ansari’s allegations and Rodríguez Márquez’s misrepresented status as the congresswoman’s “constituent.”
After Ansari claimed that she was denied access to the Eloy Detention Center in July, a DHS spokesman told 12News:
“Allegations that Congresswoman Ansari was denied access to the Eloy Detention Facility are FALSE. After being told that Ansari would be unable to speak with detainees—illegal aliens, not constituents—she did not even show up or have the courtesy to send a cancellation notice to ICE.
“While ICE law enforcement officers face an 830% increase in assaults against them, Congresswoman Ansari is has demonized ICE law enforcement in the past—calling them a ‘military force hell bent on terrorizing immigrant communities.’
“Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”
As a legal resident in the United States and not a citizen, even before the revocation of her residency, Rodríguez Márquez was unable to vote in U.S. federal elections legally. Following the revocation of her residency, her legal status reverted to that of a foreign national in the U.S. illegally or an illegal alien and a detainee.
Libs of TikTok observed the discrepancy in a post to X writing, “Rep Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) says she has ‘many constituents’ who are in ICE detention facilities[.] Why do you have ‘constituents’ who are in our country illegally @RepYassAnsari?? Does @RepYassAnsari care this much about her actual constituents who are American citizens?”
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 Matthew Holloway | Aug 22, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Social media commentator Chaya Raichik’s Libs of TikTok account is calling for charges against current Phoenix City Councilwoman and former Arizona State Senator Anna Hernandez (D) after she allegedly posted a warning threatening the security of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and interfering with their legal operations.
In a now-deleted post, screen-captured by Libs of TikTok, Hernandez allegedly wrote, “ALERT/ALERTA” and provided an address in Phoenix where ICE Agents were observed to be operating, along with the main cross streets. She wrote, “ICE IS PRESENT/LA MIGRA ESTÁ PRESENTE” and provided a phone number for a “línea de Defensa” or line of defense, which traces back to the Puente Human Rights Movement, an illegal immigrant advocacy organization.
Libs of TikTok wrote, “Anna Hernandez (D), a Former Arizona State Senator and current Phoenix Councilwoman, made a post on her Instagram doxxing ICE’s live location. She’s interfering with ICE and helping criminal illegals evade arrest. Charge her.”
In a follow-up video post to the platform, Hernandez advised her followers to “resist by:”
- “Demanding transparency from our new police chief
- Forcing MCSO to cut ties with ICE
- Investing in care, not criminalization
- Protecting each other at the neighborhood level”
She wrote that President Donald Trump “federalized D.C.’s police — even though violent crime is at a 30-year low. He deployed the National Guard, swept through historically Black neighborhoods, and targeted residents experiencing homelessness.”
She then claimed, “We’re already seeing PPD violate the rights of unhoused people and put immigrants at risk of deportation. A Trump takeover of PPD would only escalate this violence.
As recently as May, Hernandez was organizing demonstrations against ICE at Arizona’s federal immigration court in Phoenix, writing, “ICE is back, making arrests at Phoenix courts. Community with safe status, it’s time to stand up and make our voices heard!”
The allegations against Hernandez came just days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was forced to relocate her personal residence due to increased threats to her person and family, along with “vicious doxxing,” described by a Homeland Security spokesman to Fox News.
“Following the media’s publishing of the location of Secretary Noem’s Washington D.C. apartment, she has faced vicious doxxing on the dark web and a surge in death threats, including from the terrorist organizations, cartels, and criminal gangs that DHS targets. Due to threats and security concerns, she has been forced to temporarily stay in secure military housing,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Secretary Noem continues to pay rent for her Navy Yard residence,” she added. “It’s a shame that the media chooses sensationalism over the safety of people enforcing America’s laws to keep Americans safe.”
In July, ICE officers reported a massive increase in assaults, according to a memo sent by U.S. Homeland Security, with extremist groups targeting ICE personnel and their families through similar coordinated doxxing.
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 Matthew Holloway | Aug 8, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a post to X earlier this week, Chaya Raichik’s ‘Libs of TikTok’ revealed a now-deleted video allegedly created by an educator at the PPEP TEC High School’s Cesar Chavez Learning Center in San Luis, Arizona. The video urged teachers to “teach as hard as you can[.] So your students don’t grow up to be… Trump supporters.”
In a screenshot of the post, a man believed to be PPEP TEC High School teacher Edson Delgado, posting under the now-deleted profile ‘mrfacts5x’ wrote, in full, “This school year… Teach as hard as you can[.] So your students don’t grow up to be… Trump supporters. Make America Smart Again.”
In the caption of the post, he added, “If we don’t teach them critical thinking… someone else will teach them conspiracy theories. Let’s make America smart again.”
Libs of TikTok commented on the post, “Teacher at PPEP Cesar Chavez Learning Center in AZ wants to ‘teach’ students so they don’t grow up to be Trump supporters. Any comment @ppeptechs?? Do you condone teachers indoctrinating kids???”
The individual depicted in the post as ‘mrfacts5x’ bears a notable resemblance to Delgado, an educator who was honored by the office of Yuma County Superintendent Tom Hurt as doing “Great things at PPEP Tech!” In a March 25th post to Facebook and is identifiable through the certifications shown hanging behind him in the post to TikTok.
Several commenters on social media expressed reactions, ranging from concern to outrage. Political commentator Paul Szypula wrote, “Our schools are compromised.”
Columnist Emilia Henderson replied on X, “That teacher is PROGRAMMING kids with hatred for their own country. If PPEP allows this, they’re no school at all.. they’re a political FACTORY pushing Democrat obedience.”
Some critics of the TikTok post called for federal funding for PPEP TEC High School to be terminated, while others called for the teacher’s termination. At least one Arizona commenter, ‘JustADudeAZ,’ stated that he reported the incident to Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. He wrote, “Credit to Tom Horne for listening and getting back to me. He provided where to go to keep people like this teacher honest. If you see teaching like this you can report them directly using this site,” and provided a link to the Empower Hotline.
The hotline is “the forum to report about inappropriate lessons that detract from teaching academic standards such as those that focus on race or ethnicity, rather than individuals and merit, promoting gender ideology, social emotional learning, or inappropriate sexual content,” according to the Arizona Department of Education.
AZ Free News has reached out to PPEP TEC High School for comment but received no response by the filing of this article.
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.
