Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) called for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to resign after she suggested that people could use “lethal force” against ICE agents. Petersen is running for attorney general against Mayes. After her remarks, her law enforcement liaison David Harvey resigned, and joined with some law enforcement groups calling her words dangerous.
Petersen posted on X, “She should make a full retraction and tender her resignation for putting Arizonans at risk.” Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), a former police officer, also called for Mayes to resign. “She needs to recant her statement and resign in disgrace,” Kavanagh told The Center Square. “She has just given drug cartel members [and] dangerous criminals a license to kill cops.”
During an interview with 12 News, Mayes said, “We’re a gun culture in this state. You have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks. And we have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger, and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.”
She warned that such tactics could lead to tragic misunderstandings, stating, “We also have a federal government that is putting officers on the street without any identification. That is combustible.”
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