Trauma Report Shows Rise In Certain Type Of Injury

Trauma Report Shows Rise In Certain Type Of Injury

By Daniel Stefanski |

A new study from Arizona’s Health Department reveals a troubling rise in a certain classification of injury.

On Monday, the Arizona Department of Health Services published the State Trauma Advisory Board 2023 Report. According to a summary prepared by Rachel Garcia, the Deputy Assistant Director of Preparedness, Chief of Emergency Medical Service and Trauma, and Principal Investigator for the CDC Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Program at the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Trauma Dashboard “shows that there are increases in both the trauma incidents (4%) and trauma-related deaths (3%) reported to the registry in 2022.”

The Department boasted of the debut of two resources in this year’s report – “an online interactive Trauma Dashboard and a Motor Vehicle Traffic-Related Trauma Dashboard.” The purpose of both resources is to “provide valuable insight into the top mechanisms of injury and trauma deaths in Arizona.”

Per the Department’s statistics for 2022, “among children ages 0 to 17, falls were the top mechanism of injury, but firearms were the top cause of death”; while “for adults older than 65 years of age, falls were the top mechanism of both injury and death.” The Department shared that “adults over 65 had the highest trauma rate of any age group.”

In addition to providing these numbers, the Department, through Garcia’s post, gave readers some ways that they could insulate themselves from these kinds of traumatic injuries. The primary focus of protection for motor vehicle passengers or motorcyclists to wear helmets or seatbelts while on the road. Garcia wrote that “motor vehicle passengers who visited a trauma center who were not wearing seatbelts were nearly four times as likely to die in a motor vehicle accident compared to passengers who were wearing seatbelts,” and that “motorcyclists were nearly two times more likely to die if they were not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.”

There were just under 70,000 Trauma incidents (68,245) compiled in the Arizona State Trauma Registry, and 47 Trauma Centers reported data for the Department’s use in the 2023 report. The 2022 Arizona Trauma Snapshot showed that there was an average of 187 trauma incidents reported each day for the year.

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

DOJ Arrests Iowa Man For Threatening Maricopa County Supervisor

DOJ Arrests Iowa Man For Threatening Maricopa County Supervisor

By Corinne Murdock |

On Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested an Iowa man for allegedly threatening Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman.

64-year old Mark Rissi reportedly told Hickman in a voicemail last September that he was going to lynch and hang him for being a “lying commie” for supporting the results of the 2020 election. Rissi also issued a similar threat to Hickman via a voicemail left with Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office in December. 

“When we come to lynch your stupid lying Commie [expletive], you’ll remember that you lied on the [expletive] Bible, you piece of [expletive],” said the voicemail. “You’re gonna die, you piece of [expletive]. We’re going to hang you. We’re going to hang you.”

Although the DOJ press release announcing Rissi’s arrest didn’t identify Hickman as the subject of Rissi’s alleged threats, Hickman spoke out in a press release of his own to thank the DOJ and FBI. However, Hickman said that the DOJ’s actions weren’t enough because there were many other threats made to him, fellow supervisors, Recorder Stephen Richer, and numerous county elections staff. 

Hickman also chided Arizonans “in positions of power [and] leadership [and] influence” for being silent. 

“I’m speaking out today in hopes that others will follow. Whether it’s a person who shares your politics or your worldview or not, no one should be subjected to this kind of hatred,” stated Hickman. “And if we truly want to keep our country great, we will do everything we can to denounce threats against election workers and combat the disinformation that imperils our democracy.”

Maricopa County took another step to counter election disinformation recently. They launched a disinformation center and limited press access last week to control the narrative and manage the flow of information.

So far, the FBI has taken action against those who issued threats to elected officials critical of the 2020 election audit and claims of fraud. They haven’t made arrests for those threats made to Republican officials supportive of the audit, such as death threats given to Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) and State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale). 

In August, the FBI charged a Missouri man for threatening Richer. In July, they arrested a Massachusetts man for threatening Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. 

This latest arrest comes two days after the DOJ briefed 300 election officials and workers on available grant funding for physical election security enhancements, some of which may come from the American Rescue Plan; among those in attendance were election officials and their representatives from Arizona. The DOJ also updated the election officials on their Election Threats Task Force. 

That task force, which launched last June, has reviewed over 1,000 contacts reported as hostile or harassing by the election community. The task force reported that only 11 percent of those contacts warranted an investigation. It’s unclear whether the threats faced by those such as Fann and Ugenti-Rita met the DOJ’s threshold. 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story listed the arrested man as being from Illinois. The man is from Iowa, and the story has been corrected.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Capitol Police Quiet On 2020 Death Threat Against Congressman Gosar

Capitol Police Quiet On 2020 Death Threat Against Congressman Gosar

By Corinne Murdock |

It’s been almost two years, and there’s been no follow-up on the death threat against Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04). Though the threat made national headlines, it appears that nothing ever came of it. Our reporters attempted to contact Capitol Police, but they didn’t issue any responses by press time.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued no updates on the death threat, though they’ve made other arrests for similar death threats since then. Gosar confirmed to AZ Free News that he wasn’t aware if the Capitol Police followed through with their investigation of the death threat against him.

“I am not aware of any action being taken on that death threat. I am not privy to the internal decision making of the Capitol Police or the reasons some threats are investigated and not charged and some are not investigated at all,” said Gosar.

The threat against Gosar was one of the more well-known of 8,600 threats against Congress reported to Capitol Police in 2020 — an uptick from the 6,900 in 2019 but less than the 9,600 from last year. 

In January, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger informed the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee that they haven’t been able to keep up with threats against Congress since the January 6 invasion of the Capitol. 

It’s a felony to threaten a congressman, one that carries up to a 5 to 10 year prison sentence. Comparatively, Gosar has faced repercussions these past two years for behaviors perceived to communicate violence.

Last November, the House censured and removed Gosar from his committees for publicizing an anime meme in which Republican representatives’ likenesses were superimposed on anime heroes who battled and slayed anime villains bearing Democratic leaders’ likenesses. Gosar was the House’s first censure in over a decade, prompting a 4-hour debate.

The meme video was a parody of the popular anime show, “Attack on Titan.”

Since the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, Gosar has faced consistent attacks for promoting and participating in the preceding rally. Gosar has been the focus of the Democrats’ Senate select committee investigating January 6.

Earlier this year, a Democrat-backed, progressive nonprofit, Free Speech For People, unsuccessfully challenged the legitimacy of Gosar’s re-election campaign, as well as the campaigns of Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and State Representative Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley) for organizing the January 6 protest. 

The death threat reportedly came from activist and retired elementary school teacher, Margaret (Mary) Kathleen Spangenberg. The former educator reportedly issued her threat on a voicemail left with Gosar’s congressional office. 

“I think it’s totally OK for me to come with my gun and shoot you in the head,” said the woman. “That’s what we think of you, Mr. Gosar. You’re a murderer supporter and you are just going down. Murderer, murderer, murderer supporter, you are going down. And we’ll make sure we’ll send lots of protesters your way too. You’re a real big f*****g piece of s**t.”

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who Spangenberg supported, condemned the threat against Gosar’s life. Kelly’s wife, Gabrielle Giffords, is the survivor of an assassination attempt. 

“I strongly condemn this threat against Rep. Gosar,” wrote Kelly. “Threats of violence like this are wrong. I’m glad Capitol Police is investigating.”

Spangenberg also supported Julie Gunnigle’s previous run for Maricopa County Attorney. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.