A majority of Arizona sheriffs have chosen to side with their fellow Sheriff Mark Lamb in the Senate race over Trump-endorsed Kari Lake, due to the implications of her recently calling Lamb a “coward” for not helping overturn the 2022 election.
Lake shifted some of the blame for her gubernatorial loss onto Lamb during an online forum last month with the Arizona chapter of the Association of Mature American Citizens. In a press release from Lamb’s campaign, the sheriffs of nine counties signed onto a letter condemning Lake’s attack.
“Kari Lake’s recent comment calling Sheriff Mark Lamb a ‘coward’ is both unfounded and disrespectful,” said the statement. “We want to make it clear: neither Sheriff Mark Lamb nor any law enforcement officer who wears a badge and uniform, putting their life on the line every day to protect and serve our communities, is a coward. Arizona voters expect better from a political candidate, especially when they are running for the U.S. Senate.”
Sheriffs Adam Shepard, Gila; David Clouse, Navajo; David Rhodes, Yavapai; Doug Schuster, Mohave; Leon Wilmot, Yuma; Mark Dannels, Cochise; PJ Allred, Graham; Russ Skinner, Maricopa; and William Ponce, La Paz signed onto the letter. Sheriff candidates Jerry Sheridan, Maricopa; Mike Crawford, Maricopa; and Ross Teeple, Pinal also signed onto the letter.
The panel in which Lake criticized Lamb wasn’t designed as a debate, but in some respects it became one. Lake accused Lamb of cowardice for not using law enforcement authority to facilitate change in the 2022 election’s outcome.
“I took every hit fighting for security in our elections. Sheriffs had the ability to fight, and the sheriff in Pinal County cowered, and he’s a total coward when it comes to election integrity,” said Lake.
Lamb responded with accusations that Lake’s assessment about his involvement in scrutinizing the 2022 election wasn’t entirely truthful. Lamb said that Pinal County fired those responsible for underprinting ballots, as well as established cameras and citizen monitors for drop boxes.
“Yes, we didn’t print enough ballots [in 2022] in Pinal County, and guess who didn’t complain about it because she won the primary? Kari didn’t. It didn’t matter to her until the general election,” said Lamb. “I live in a world of evidence, what you can prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt. […] Any one of these people, including Kari, could’ve brought me the evidence that was actionable for me in court to do something about it.”
Outside of the scuffle in the panel, Lake has aimed her attacks on Democratic opponent Ruben Gallego.
My opponent @RubenGallego has the full backing of the Soros family
This family funds the most insidious elements of the radical left's agenda:
– Open borders – Democrat lawfare & persecution – Pro-terrorist encampments on our college campuses – Censorship – Rising crime
Lake criticized Gallego for not debating, though she has refused to debate Lamb. The GOP debate for Senate candidates is scheduled for June 26, about a week before early voting, and Lamb will be there.
🚨Watch & Share🚨
I challenged @RubenGallego to a debate on the one issue that he likes to talk about.
Unlike @JoeBiden, Gallego refuses to debate his opponent.
That’s because the minute Joe goes off script, the American people will know he's mentally diminished,
Should Lake not show up for the debate, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission will pivot to host a 30-minute Q&A with Lamb rather than a 60-minute debate.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Arizona sheriffs are pushing state officials to increase funding for border security.
Last week, the Arizona Sheriff’s Association sent separate letters to Governor Katie Hobbs and legislative leaders. Those letters requested Arizona to “double its contribution to local law enforcement to allow (sheriffs) to deploy more resources to interdict human and drug smugglers.”
The sheriffs opened their letter by pointing to the $12 million included in the 2023-24 state budget “to help law enforcement handle crime related to illegal border crossers.” Though these sheriffs were “grateful for the assistance,” they asserted that “the situation at the border has only worsened” since the funds were negotiated by the Arizona Legislature and Governor Hobbs.
David Rhodes, the President of the Association and the Yavapai County Sheriff told AZ Free News, “It is our local communities that are grappling day in and day out with the impacts of an insecure border. We are not just pulling over DUI suspects or patrolling neighborhoods. Sheriffs deputies across the state have become quasi-border patrol agents, seizing fentanyl pills, and arresting human traffickers. And the problem isn’t getting better, it is only getting worse.”
In their letter, the sheriffs wrote, “As Governor and the leaders of our Legislature, we understand you must balance spending priorities. And the federal government holds the ultimate responsibility for securing our border and stanching the flow of drugs and illegal crossers. However, can there be any doubt about the federal government’s abject failure in this area? Your eyes haven’t deceived you. Indeed, daily the media attention highlights the disastrous impacts of an open border. The scourge of fentanyl spreads like a cancer in communities large and small. Much of that deadly drug flows through Arizona. Arizona sheriff’s deputies seize millions of fentanyl pills every year. And the smuggling through our state’s highways shows no signs of abating.”
Just last month, a Cochise County Deputy Sheriff was seriously injured as he attempted to stop a suspected smuggler, who was trying to evade apprehension in her vehicle. When talking to local media about the rash of similar incidents plaguing his county and department, Sheriff Mark Dannels said, “Just this week alone, I’ve had a patrol car damaged, I’ve had two officers, deputies that were trying to be run over by smuggler drivers. This is every day down here.”
The sheriffs promised that, if the legislature were to appropriate more funds for border security in the next budget, they would use it for “more deputies patrolling the roads, more canine handlers and dogs to sniff out drugs, and better technology to match the wealth and equipment used by the cartels.”
As they ended their letter, the sheriffs added a plea for state leaders to heed their calls, saying, “No amount of state money will allow us to seal the 200-mile-long border to all illegal activity. But by making a small investment, Arizona will at least make a dent while improving the safety of our local communities. As this year demonstrated, our state leaders believe border security through effective law enforcement is worth an investment. We hope you see the wisdom in furthering that financial commitment.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona’s frontline status with the crisis at America’s southern border led to a surprise, influential visitor this week.
On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in his official capacity, traveled to the southern border in Sierra Vista, alongside his Attorney General, Ashley Moody, who has been instrumental in filing many lawsuits against the federal government.
DeSantis convened two roundtables with a number of sheriffs from Arizona, Florida, and other states, listening to their stories and talking about solutions to mitigate the worsening crisis at the border.
After the meetings at Cochise College, Sheriff Mark Dannels, a national leader on border security and local enforcement, escorted his out-of-state guests to the border, where they gained a fresh, first-hand perspective of the deteriorating situation.
In a release sent out by the Florida Governor’s Office, Governor DeSantis used the visit to “highlight Florida’s successful actions to combat illegal immigration within the state and along the southern border.” Those measures include “new methods for combating human smuggling and drug trafficking across state lines and the relocation of illegal aliens who wish to be transported to so-called sanctuary states and cities.” DeSantis also announced that “Florida’s law enforcement agencies are offering trainings for other states that want to follow Florida’s lead on protecting citizens from the impacts of Biden’s Border Crisis.”
The second-term Sunshine State governor issued the following statement in conjunction with his mid-week stop in the Grand Canyon State: “Joe Biden is derelict in the performance of his duties and refuses to uphold the borders of our nation. In Florida, we’re stepping up even as the federal government falls down on the job. We enacted strong legislation to combat illegal immigration, sent law enforcement officers and equipment to the border, and have dedicated resources to divert migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions. Today we’re taking Florida’s no-nonsense approach to border enforcement nationwide.”
The chaos we are witnessing at our southern border is a direct result of the President’s dereliction of duty
If Joe Biden won’t do his duty to protect our people and our borders, Florida will step up. pic.twitter.com/TeYBKh2M8m
Dannels was extremely complimentary of the Florida team that descended on his county, appreciating their efforts to partner with him and other members of law enforcement, saying, “This is not about politics, folks. This is about doing what is right, which everyone in this room that works for government has taken an oath to do. So thank you guys for what you do. We pledge to you both and all our governors, all our sheriffs, all our law enforcement, our prosecutors, our county attorneys, our mayors to work united to fix these borders, secure our borders, and get America back.”
Sheriffs including Mark Dannels @TopCop_Cochise, PJ Allred (@GrahamCounty) William Ponce (La Paz) meet with Florida gov @rondesantis in Cochise County to discuss border issues. It was a good opportunity to discuss the issues sheriffs face in AZ pic.twitter.com/9qlg3I576i
Another Arizona sheriff, P.J. Allred of Graham County, was at the table with the Florida chief executive and gave the following remarks: “When most people come from the south to come to the United States, my little county is probably not their destination, but they come through us and we feel them when they come through us. When we’ve encountered them after a pursuit through the desert, when they see us as law enforcement and the vehicles come to a stop, they run to us as law enforcement to get away from the coyotes that were carrying them. I appreciate all of you for being here, being interested in our country, our freedoms, our rights.”
At least two state legislators appeared to be in attendance for DeSantis’ southern Arizona check-in: House Speaker Ben Toma and Representative Gail Griffin. Toma tweeted a picture with DeSantis, writing, “My pleasure to help welcome Governor Ron DeSantis to Arizona and to share details of our border crisis. Glad to hear we share the same determination to secure the southern border once and for all.”
My pleasure to help welcome @GovRonDeSantis to Arizona and to share details of our border crisis. Glad to hear we share the same determination to secure the southern border once and for all. pic.twitter.com/7CxsPU9w2f
Az Rep. Gail Griffin and Sheriff Mark Dannels talk to @RonDeSantis about how immigrants and smugglers scale the border fence. “The border’s wide open,” Dannels says. pic.twitter.com/cbPqam2Om3
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels was asked to address the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary last week about the southwest border crisis, and he did not waste the opportunity, expressing frustration with how the Biden administration is avoiding the situation.
“Our southern border, against all public comfort statements out of Washington, D.C., is in the worst shape I have ever seen it,” Dannels testified. “When one looks at Public Safety, National Security, and Humanitarian, our southern border is the largest crime scene in the country.”
Dannels, who is the immediate past-president of the Arizona Sheriffs Association and chair of the National Sheriffs Association Border Security, told Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan and the committee he has personally experienced “the good, the bad, and the ugly” while working in border communities for nearly 40 years.
The sheriff acknowledged there “has always” been some border-related crimes such as illicit drugs, human smuggling, and weapons trafficking by Cartels. But prior to President Joe Biden taking office in January 2021, Cochise County was “one on the safest border counties” thanks to a cooperative effort that included enforcing the law, Dannels explained.
But Dannels told the Congressional committee he and other sheriffs have had “little to no success” in trying to partner with the White House to address the growing crisis caused by Biden’s open border policies the last two years.
As a result, the “intellectual avoidance” of border issues by Biden is being exploited by the Cartels to support their reign of “violence, fear, and greed,” Dannels said.
“Violence against innocent citizens, public officials, law enforcement, and rival drug / human trafficking groups in Mexico continues to escalate,” Dannels testified, adding it has left communities in Cochise County feeling “neglected and abandoned.”
Cochise County typically does not experience the type of mass self-surrenders seen in Yuma and some border crossings in Texas. Instead, the county’s 80 miles of international border are preferred by what Dannels called “Fight & Flight” crossers, many of whom are convicted criminals who go to great lengths to avoid detection.
This has now resulted in an all-time high of border crimes in the county, Dannels testified. And it is not just property crimes the sheriff was referring to – he pointed to a significant uptick in aggravated assaults, injury traffic accidents, and homicides directly related to Cartels exploiting the border.
According to Dannels, Mexican drug trafficking organizations operating in Cochise County “are highly sophisticated and innovative in their transportation methods” and utilize “sophisticated and technical communications and counter surveillance equipment to counter law enforcements interdiction tactics and strategies.”
It raises the question, the sheriff noted, of who actually controls our borders.
“By allowing our border security mission and immigration laws to be discretionary, these Criminal Cartels continue to be the true winners,” Dannels testified, adding that the continuance of deaths and hardships as Congress and the Biden administration “intentionally avoids reality is gross negligence.”
Dannels provided the House Judiciary Committee with several suggestions for how the federal government could quickly secure the border and address the violence.
“One would hope the priority of securing our border doesn’t become just about a price tag and/or political posturing, but rather the legal and moral requirement to safeguard all of America, which so many heroic Americans have already paid the ultimate price for,” Dannels said.
Dannels reiterated his frustration later in the week during an interview with KFYI’s James T. Harris.
“We have a border that is out of control,” Dannels told Harris, adding that his pleas did not appear to resonate with many of those in power in the Beltway because “it’s not in their Washington, D.C. backyard.”
Prosecutors in Arizona’s border counties have long complained of having no consequential option for charging people who engage in transportation of undocumented non-U.S. citizens (UNCs), but that could substantially change if Senate Bill 1379 is enacted.
It is currently only a Class 1 misdemeanor under Arizona Revised Statute 13-2929 if a person “unlawfully transports, moves, conceals, harbors or shields undocumented immigrants.” A Class 1 misdemeanor conviction provides for a jail (not prison) sentence of no more than six months, and in many courts it can take that long just to get a case to trial.
But SB1379 would reclassify human smuggling transportation activities involving one UNC as a Class 6 felony, making prison time an option. Felony convictions also trigger a loss of many civil rights, including the right to possess or use a firearm.
In addition, the bill would allow state and county prosecutors to charge those involved in the transportation of 2 or more UNCs with a Class 4 felony. This significantly changes the current group prosecution option under ARS 13-2929, which requires at least 10 UNCs to be in a vehicle in order to charge as a Class 6 felony.
SB1379 even redefines who can be charged under state law with engaging in human smuggling transportation. Currently a person must already be in violation of another “criminal offense” in order to be charged under ARS 13-2929. The bill rewords that prerequisite to a violation of a criminal “law or statute.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB1379 on Thursday. It is waiting to clear the Senate Rules Committee next.
