KTAR NEWS: House Republicans vote to censure AG Mayes, call for her resignation over ICE statements

PHOENIX — Arizona House Republicans announced Thursday they voted to censure Attorney General Kris Mayes as well as call for her resignation in light of her recent controversial comments about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The state leadership joined the Arizona State Senate Republicans in calling for Mayes to vacate her position, the latter doing so on Jan. 27.

House Resolution 2004 was passed on Republican support, with all House Democrats voting it down, according to a press release.

The resolution expressed that it “condemns the attorney general’s public remarks concerning the use of force against law enforcement officers and declares the House’s disapproval of statements that law enforcement leaders and even Governor Hobbs warned were incomplete, misleading and dangerous.”

HR2004 was sponsored by Rep. Joseph Chaplik, who said Mayes’ speech regarding ICE officers was not “a slip of the tongue” and is deserving of being dismissed from office.

“When the top law enforcement official in the state fuels confusion, criminals listen and peace officers pay the price,” Chaplik said.

In addition, the resolution asks for the attorney general “to retract her statements, issue corrective public guidance that accurately states Arizona law (and) publicly express support for law enforcement officers.”

What did Attorney General Kris Mayes say about ICE?

The controversy began Jan. 20 when Mayes expressed concerns that confrontations between Arizona residents and ICE could turn deadly in an interview with 12News. She called the combination of armed residents who are empowered under the law to defend themselves — Arizona’s Stand Your Ground law — and mask-wearing agents without uniforms “a recipe for disaster.”

Brahm Resnik, the journalist conducting the interview, asked her to clarify if she was “giving license to a person to shoot an officer.”

“Absolutely not. But how do you know they’re a peace officer? That’s the key,” Mayes said. “And so if there’s a situation where somebody pulls out their gun, because they know Arizona is a Stand Your Ground state, then it becomes, did they reasonably know that they were a peace officer? I mean, this is a different set of circumstances in the state of Arizona.”

Mayes also vowed in the interview to prosecute any ICE agent who violates Arizona law, although federal immunity law makes that more complicated to bring to fruition.

Mayes talked further about the issue Jan. 22 during an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos. She explained that under Arizona law, residents who reasonably believe their lives are in danger can use lethal force to protect themselves.

“If you are really sure that they are ICE and they present a badge or they present identification, then I would not recommend using lethal force against them. But one of the worries that I have is … that we have a Stand Your Ground law in Arizona,” Mayes said.

Joe Clure, executive director of the Arizona Police Association, responded to the attorney general’s comments Jan. 23 on KTAR News, calling them “reckless” and “dangerous.”

“I was in complete shock when I heard the … highest law enforcement official in the state of Arizona essentially giving a tutorial on how to shoot a police officer, specifically ICE agents, and get away with it,” Clure said.

Clure also accused Mayes of misinterpreting the state’s Stand Your Ground law because it doesn’t allow for lethal force against law enforcement officers performing official duties.