Things have gone from bad to worse for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) as mere demands for her to resign have turned into the law enforcement support on which she relies resigning in fury over her comments, with what she said about “Stand Your Ground” laws leading to the shooting of ICE officers causing the law enforcement liaison in her office to resign in disgust.
AS background, AG Mayes made her horrid comments about Arizonians shooting ICE officers during an interview that was conducted with 12 News NBC. During the interview, which was released on January 20, 2026, Mayes commented on the “Stand Your Ground” law in Arizona, one of the strongest such state-level self-defense laws in the country, and suggested that it could provide legal cover for those who shoot masked ICE agents, a horrid comment.
That led to immense anger from the law enforcement community. The Arizona Police Association, for example, commented on how she framed the issue and said, “This framing is deeply troubling and dangerous. Law enforcement officers at every level including state, local, and federal agencies do not always wear traditional uniforms. Officers across Arizona, including members of the Attorney General’s own investigative teams, routinely operate in plain clothes or wear protective face coverings when circumstances require it. This does not diminish their legal authority or status as law enforcement.”
Continuing, it argued that her remarks could lead to anti-ICE violence, noting, “ICE agents are sworn federal law enforcement officers carrying out the lawful duties of the federal government. Publicly speculating about how someone might legally justify shooting an ICE agent sends a dangerous and irresponsible message, particularly in an already tense and polarized environment.”
It further noted, “Words from elected officials matter. It only takes one unstable individual to interpret such commentary as permission or encouragement to use deadly force against police officers . . . We find these remarks reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous to the safety of all law enforcement professionals in this state.”
That wasn’t all. In an even bigger deal for Mayes, her law enforcement liaison, David Harvey, resigned in disgust with what she had said, leaving her office after three years of working with her because of her horrid comments about how Arizonians could shoot ICE agents.
“Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning my position as your Law Enforcement Liaison with the Attorney General’s Office. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to represent this office during my last three years,” the longtime senior staffer said in his resignation letter.
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For reference, Mayes said, in the interview, that she was on the side of the anti-ICE agitators. She began, “Stay peaceful, stay restrained. You know, be respectful of each other and law enforcement. Don’t take the bait, because I think that’s definitely going on. They’re trying to bait people all across this country. And if you do that, everything should be OK, and I will protect you.”
Continuing, she commented on the broad scope of the Arizona “Stand Your Ground” law, saying, “The other thing I want to bring up with you, that I am worried about, that makes Arizona very, very different from almost every other state where this buildup is happening, Brahm, is that we’re a stand your ground state. We have one of the most expansive stand your ground laws in the entire country, that rivals even Florida. We also have a lot of guns in Arizona. We’re a gun culture in this state.”
Then, suggesting that ICE agents could be shot under the law, she said, “And you know, it’s kind of a recipe for disaster because 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 your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or at, on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force. But it’s the fact, that we have a stand your ground law and we have in other states ununiformed, masked people who can’t be identified as police officers. That is a problem.”
The AG added, “But this is a don’t tread on me state. This is a Second Amendment state. This is a state with a lot of guns in it. And we have a law on the books that the Republican Legislature passed that says you have the right to defend yourself if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger, except when it involves a police officer.”
Watch Mayes make her horrid comments here: