Tag: arizona

Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Accused of Posting Threats, Calls for Violence

A Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy, identified as Ramon Hernández, is facing calls for immediate suspension and investigation after a series of public social media posts surfaced containing violent threats, anti-government rhetoric, and explicit calls for assassination of public officials and U.S. allies.

Screenshots of Hernández’s Facebook posts, compiled into a formal report, document repeated calls for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the President of the United States, and derogatory remarks directed at federal agencies including ICE, FBI, and DHS. Several posts explicitly advocate revolution and violent insurrection.

Given Hernández’s role as a sworn deputy with arrest powers and access to law enforcement resources, these public statements raise grave concerns about public safety, potential bias in law enforcement actions, and possible insider-threat risks.

Public Safety & Legal Implications

These statements may violate federal law, including 18 U.S.C. § 871 (threats against officials) and 18 U.S.C. § 2339A/B (incitement or material support for terrorism), as well as Arizona statutes criminalizing threats against public officials. The report calls on the FBI, DHS, and Pima County Sheriff’s Department Internal Affairs to take immediate action.

Keep reading

SEND IN THE US MARSHALS: After Locking New County Recorder Out of System, Maricopa County is Attempting to Illegally Delete Records Ahead of Potential DOJ Investigations

Maricopa County officials are attempting to delete emails that potentially relate to the 2020 and 2022 elections, as well as irregularities in the 2024 elections, amid potential investigations by Trump Administration officials into the election fraud. 

In a letter to Maricopa County Manager Jen Pokorski, newly elected Republican County Recorder Justin Heap sounded the alarm on the Maricopa County Enterprise Technology and Innovation (ETI) department’s plans to delete archived emails from previous administrations. These documents are the subject of outstanding public records requests and may be of value in an official investigation.

Heap argues that the destruction of these emails would violate Arizona law, relating to record retention, and county policies. He further asks that the records be maintained due to their historical significance and in order to fulfill public records requests.

Local activist Merissa Hamilton says the move by Maricopa County is “suspect,” as “Trump Administration officials signal fresh probes into 2020 concerns and beyond.”

Elections in Maricopa County have come under intense scrutiny following the 2020 election, which was stolen from Trump, and the 2022 election, where 60% of the voting machines miraculously failed on election day and robbed then-gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, then-Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh, and others of a win.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced last month that the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is investigating violations of federal voting laws and cracking down on state voter rolls. This likely includes a deeper dive into Arizona, a hotbed for election irregularities, especially in 2020 and 2022.

Previously, US Rep. Abe Hamadeh, whose 2022 election was stolen by just 280 votes, also told The Gateway Pundit that he met with FBI Director Kash Patel and signaled that the FBI is looking at what happened in Arizona. “I’m still seeking justice. I’m just going to say, stay tuned to see what happens. We haven’t forgotten,” Hamadeh said.

Hamadeh later alerted the Department of Justice to potential illegal activity in Arizona and several western states after a whistleblower came forward with “credible claims” of election security violations involving the Arizona-based ballot printing firm, Runbeck Election Services. Runbeck, which surely has email correspondence with County officials, allegedly commingled blank ballots with voted mail-in ballots in a warehouse during the 2024 vote-counting process. The shady private entity, founded by leftists, transports and scans Maricopa County mail-in ballots with no chain of custody and little oversight before they are processed and counted by the County.

Additionally, just last week, it was revealed by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that documents related to corruption in the 2020 election were found “tucked away in the back of safes in random offices” in “burn bags.” The evidence of election fraud is expected to be made public shortly.

The emails could also include collusion between Maricopa County officials and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to censor so-called “election deniers” and The Gateway Pundit’s reporting on Maricopa County elections.

Keep reading

Arizona Leftist Senator Doubles Down On Her ‘Right’ To Tip Off Illegals To ICE Operations

Last week, Arizona State Sen. Analise Ortiz, vulgarly defended her actions after she admitted to alerting illegal immigrants to ICE presence in her district. The Glendale leftist, who also is accused of doxxing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, shook her fist at “fascists and white supremacists in power in Arizona,” and claimed she had a right to interfere in federal immigration law enforcement activities. 

“Yep. When ICE is around, I will alert my community to stay out of the area, and I’m not f***king scared of you nor Trump’s masked goons,” the lawmaker wrote in response to the conservative social media site Libs of TikTok outing Ortiz for “actively impeding and doxxing” ICE. 

But “alerting” her community could very well tip off some very dangerous people who represent a clear and present danger to the community at large.

‘Will be Investigated’

In a statement, Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen said he has referred the matter to U.S. Attorney, Arizona District for investigation. And Petersen told The Federalist last week that an ethics complaint has been filed in the Senate against Ortiz “and will be investigated through the course of the normal complaint process at the legislature.” 

Ortiz has since doubled down on her defiant rhetoric, asserting her speech is protected under the First Amendment. 

“I am not intimidated by this because what I did was simply alert my community to stay away from an area where ICE could be to keep themselves safe,” she told ABC15 Arizona in an interview. 

That’s a good way to get law enforcement agents and civilians hurt or killed, the Department of Homeland Security has said, as attacks on ICE agents soar by more than 800 percent. 

“Notifying the public about ICE law enforcement operations endangers law enforcement and weakens American national security. This certainly looks like obstruction of justice,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to the news outlet. 

While Ortiz claims free speech, ICE continues to do its job, what both houses of Congress through legislation have asked them to do: enforce the nation’s immigration laws. Some of the illegal immigrants open-border activists want to alert are turning out to be some very violent people who have done some terrible things. 

Keep reading

U. Arizona offers ‘LGBTQ+ liberation’ internship to develop ‘scholar-activist identity’

The University of Arizona is offering a for-credit internship this fall to give students a deeper understanding of “Queer and Trans liberation” and encourage “the development of a scholar-activist identity” for “LGBTQ+2S” students.

One Arizona-based education policy expert raised concerns with The College Fix about the public university granting academic credit for “ideological activism.”

The internship is a student-funded, three-credit and year-long collaboration between the LGBTQ+2S Resource Center and the university’s Pride Alliance student group, according to the program’s description reviewed by The College Fix.

The program’s webpage was removed after a media inquiry about it last week from The College Fix. An archived version from the 2023-24 school year is still available.

“This internship encourages the development of a scholar-activist identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexual, and two-spirit (LGBTQA+2S) and allied students at The University of Arizona, particularly through the lens of sexual orientation, autonomy and advocacy, gender identity, and gender expression,” according to the program description for the 2025-26 year reviewed by The Fix.

Additionally, interns will discuss “LGBTQ+ Liberation” and attend a weekly class “focusing on identity development and social justice leadership skills,” according to an Instagram post by the Pride Alliance.

Keep reading

Man indicted for allegedly committing almost a quarter of all Arizona ACCCHS fraud

Multiple Arizona residents are among the more than 300 people charged in a nationwide “takedown” of health care schemes, including one accused of being responsible for billing the state for 22% of all AHCCCS “sober living” fraud. 

Farukh Jara Ali is accused of submitting about $650 million in “false and fraudulent claims” to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and personally receiving $24.5 million as part of the alleged fraud.

Ali is the owner of a company called ProMD Solutions, which 12News has previously covered in connection with the AHCCCS “sober living” fraud scandal.

ProMD Solutions is listed as the statutory agent for multiple businesses accused of fraud. 

In 2023, a man identifying himself as Mark Stanley, a Vice President with the company, told 12News via Zoom that ProMD Solutions was a billing company that also provided turnkey solutions for behavioral health businesses. He denied any billing fraud on ProMD’s part. 

ProMD Solutions’ website lists an address in Irvine, CA. But a search of the address reveals it to be a strip mall with a third-party mailbox store. In reality, prosecutors say Ali was running the business from Pakistan. 

In court documents, prosecutors state that Ali had contracted with 38 purported healthcare providers to bill the state for $650 million, of which AHCCCS paid $564 million.

According to the indictment, other behavioral healthcare businesses began a scheme to offer bribes and kickbacks to sober living homes, allegedly offering higher amounts for patients who could use the American Indian Health Plan.

Native Americans were widely targeted by the sober living scheme.  In many cases, they were promised drug and alcohol rehab that they never received. 

The bribes were allegedly in exchange for sending the sober living residents to these behavioral health providers. Prosecutors allege Ali and the business owners conspired to falsify treatment notes to justify billing for services that were never rendered. 

According to the indictment, ProMD Solutions was the company responsible for doing the actual billing, with Ali taking 5% off the top. Prosecutors say he made just under $25 million. Prosecutors believe he bought a $3 million golf course home in Dubai using at least some of that money. 

Keep reading

Arizona Voters Will Decide on Designating Drug Cartels Terrorist Organizations

Arizona voters will decide in November on whether or not to designate drug cartels operating at the U.S. Southern border with Mexico as terrorists.

The vote will come after the Arizona state senate failed to pass a measure last year due to a slim Republican majority, per The Hill.

“Arizona is on the frontlines of a war that Washington ignored until President Trump took action. This resolution gives the Trump Administration another tool to defend our state, uphold the rule of law, and protect innocent lives,” state Rep. Steve Montenegro (R) said in a press release.

The resolution comes after the Trump administration added eight drug cartels to its list of terrorist organizations despite pushback from the Mexican government.

“Groups on the list are subject to financial sanctions, and their members cannot legally enter the United States. It is also illegal to give material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” noted The Hill.

“The Arizona ballot initiative would also direct the state Department of Homeland Security to ‘do everything within its authority to address the threat posed by drug cartels,’” it added.

Keep reading

Suspect confesses to crucifying pastor in Arizona home – and had others on hit list

In a chilling jailhouse interview, the man accused of a gruesome, religiously motivated murder of a beloved pastor in Arizona said he had committed the crime and revealed he had a broader hit list of religious leaders he intended to kill during his murderous rampage.

Adam Christopher Sheafe, 51, told True Crime Arizona Monday that he crucified 76-year-old Pastor William Schonemann, known in the community as “Pastor Bill,” inside his New River home in April.

Sheafe said the attack was part of what he claimed was a divine mission to punish religious leaders who, in his view, were misleading followers.

“I drove from there (Phoenix) to Bill’s house, like two in the morning on a Sunday night, and I executed him,” Sheafe told the correspondent Briana Whitney, who sat across the table from him.

Schonemann was found dead in his bed, covered in blood, on April 28 during a welfare check.

During the interview, Sheafe spoke about the disturbing scene, which included details about a crown of thorns, which he said he made from what he found in the woods, and placed on Schonemann’s head.

“Because what I’m saying is, what you’re preaching is not what God said,” Sheafe explained. “It’s the opposite of what God said.”

Sheafe revealed that Schonemann was not his only target. Prior to the murder, he said he had followed a priest home after Easter services in Phoenix with the intent to kill him — the first of 14 intended “executions” across the country.

“Starting in Arizona, where I was born,” Sheafe said. “Where it starts is where it ends, like the Garden of Eden.”

But he claimed to have stopped that first attempt when two women unexpectedly entered the priest’s garage.

“I’m not interested in executing anyone other than the pastors or the shepherds leading the flock astray,” he said.

After killing Schonemann, Sheafe said he traveled to Sedona, where he planned to murder two more religious leaders. He would later be identified as the suspect in a burglary which led to a high-speed chase with Sedona police.

Keep reading

Arizona gun shop at center of plot to assassinate Colombian presidential candidate

The gun used by a teenager to shoot a Colombian presidential candidate was ‘acquired’ through an Arizona gun shop, law enforcement source has revealed Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told El Tiempo newspaper that Juan Sebastían Rodríguez Casallas, 14, shot Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay with a 9mm Glock what was bought on August 6, 2020.

The source also said that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was also able to confirm that the weapon has been purchased at AJI Sporting Goods in Mesa.

In addition, the law enforcement agent told the outlet that the ATF was able to identify the name of the purchase, Charles Joe Anderson.

‘It is a model of Austrian origin, unusual in actions of this type within the country, which has activated protocols to track its arrival in the hands of the hitman,’ the official said.

Colombian National Police director, General Carlos Triana, said during a press conference Monday also confirmed that the weapon was legally purchased in Arizona and said investigators were looking into how the gun made its way to Colombia.

An ATF spokesperson told DailyMail.com that it could not confirm or deny the report.

AJI Sporting Goods owner, Jeff Serdy, told DailyMail.com that he had not been contacted by federal officials from Colombia and the United States as of Monday.

Serdy confirmed that Anderson acquired the weapon via a ‘transfer’ and that his gun shop received a $30 fee. 

‘For the record all state and federal laws were very strictly followed during this transaction,’ Serdy said. 

The gun was purchased from another store, whose name Serdy was unable to share. 

A 2024 Colombian National Police report showed that at least 3,954 guns that seized were made in the United States. Another 805 were manufactured in Italy and 414 were made in Germany.

Video footage showed Senator Uribe Turbay, who is planning to run in the 2026 presidential elections, addressing a crowd of about 250 residents Saturday afternoon in Fontibon, a neighborhood in the Colombia capital city of Bogotá.

Rodríguez Casallas could be seen standing several feet away from Uribe Turbay, who was starting to make his point about how his administration would combat mental illness, when he shot the lawmaker in the back of the head and fired about five more shots.

A surveillance video showed the teen shooter racing out of the park and running down a street as Uribe Turbay’s bodyguards chased after him.

A second video showed Rodríguez Casallas hobbling towards a gated residential complex and then turning around to aim his gun at the guards.

Keep reading

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs VETOES Bill That Would Prevent China From Buying Land Near U.S. Military Bases

Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed a bill that would prevent the Chinese Communist Party from buying land near strategic assets such as military bases. Whose side is this woman on?

It really seems like Democrats are hell bent on doing everything they can to weaken the United States and threaten our national security.

They can’t even agree that China shouldn’t be able to buy American land near our defense infrastructure? What the heck is going on here?

FOX News reports:

Dem governor ripped as ‘total disgrace’ after vetoing bill limiting Chinese land ownership near military bases

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is up for reelection next year, garnered backlash Tuesday after vetoing a bill aimed at preventing China from buying up land next to strategic assets, such as military bases.

Arizona state Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp said the “politically motivated veto” was “utterly insane,” blaming Hobbs for being “an obstructionist against safeguarding our citizens from threats.”

However, Hobbs said the bill, S.B. 1109, was “ineffective at counter-espionage” and did not “directly protect” American military assets in the state…

“Governor Hobbs’s veto of SB 1109 hangs an ‘Open for the CCP’ sign on Arizona’s front door, allowing Communist China to buy up American land near critical assets like Luke Air Force Base, Palo Verde nuclear power plant, and Taiwan Semiconductor’s growing fabrication footprint,” said Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats.

Is anyone going to look into this?

Keep reading

Army surveillance balloons spotted over Tucson raise privacy concerns from advocates

The U.S. Army and a private company are flying high-altitude surveillance balloons over the Tucson area, raising concerns among privacy advocates. 

Multiple high-altitude balloons have been spotted over the Tucson and Sierra Vista area for more than a week, with one balloon in particular staying over the area longer than any of the others. That balloon, with the registration number N257TH, has made headlines in the past. 

The balloon is owned by South Dakota aerospace company Aerostar, and in 2023 was mistaken for a Chinese spy balloon. The balloon is actually part of Aerostar’s “Thunderhead” balloon system, which has been doing multiple tests with the military and other contractors across the nation and around the globe. 

“It is a technology that should not and constitutionally cannot be applied to the American people,” Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Arizona Mirror. “Even testing for eventual overseas use in legitimate combat theaters raises a lot of questions about what kind of data is being collected.”

Aerostar would not answer specific questions about what type of testing was being done. The company referred additional questions to the U.S. Department of Defense and the Army, neither of which responded to multiple requests for comment. 

Aerostar confirmed that the flights were not connected to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol or Department of Homeland Security programs, “however high-altitude balloons would be ideal for that type of mission,” Aerostar Culture and Communications Director Anastasia Quanbeck said in an email to the Mirror. 

“By leveraging directional wind patterns at high altitudes, Aerostar’s Thunderhead Balloon Systems offer groundbreaking capabilities for navigation and persistence over areas of interest,” she said. “Aerostar Thunderhead Balloon Systems are capable of supporting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, as well as extending communications across wide distances, environmental monitoring, earth observation, and scientific research.” 

Quanbeck said she was not able to discuss the work the company does with the DOD or the Army. 

Keep reading