Arizona State Senator’s Bold Move Against ICE Ignites a Fierce Legal Battle with MAGA Prosecutor—What Happens Next Will Shock You

Ever stop to think about where the real action in American democracy actually happens? No, it’s not just in the flashy halls of Washington, D.C., but in the nitty-gritty, sun-baked states like Arizona, where law, politics, and a little chaos mingle like ingredients in a wild smoothie. Picture this: an attorney general and a prosecutor locked in a bout that’s equal parts legal drama and political theater—reminding us all that democracy is more than just big speeches; it’s these “laboratories” where the experiments are messy, sometimes absurd, and always revealing. So what happens when the folks tasked with upholding the law start clashing over who gets to prosecute a state senator for nothing more than exercising free speech? Spoiler: it’s as tangled as a set of gym cables after leg day. And just when you think it can’t get any stranger, there’s cattle rustling with a twist that’d make even the most hardened con artist blush. Stick around—this rollercoaster through state-level politics is both bizarre and oddly captivating. LEARN MORE

The Laboratories of Democracy

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment to This Post)

Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what’s goin’ down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin’ gets done, and where there’s music in the cafés at night and revolution in the air.

We begin in Arizona, where the state’s Attorney General and a MAGA-drunk local prosecutor are fighting over one of those you-made-the-guys-in-Kevlar-feel-bad lawsuits that are inevitable when an old fool gives license for all manner of young fools to run amuck.

It all began when a state senator named Analise Ortiz posted the locations of ICE operatives, which is not remotely illegal, but which has irked one Brad Miller, the attorney for Pinal County, where Ortiz does not live. Miller wants to be appointed a “special prosecutor” to investigate her. Arizona’s Democratic attorney general Kris Mayes is having none of this foolishness. She sent Miller a letter.

“I demand that you provide a report to my office by August 15, 2025, answering the following questions related to your interest in prosecuting Arizona Senator Analise Ortiz, your belief that laws have been violated, and your self-advertised offer to serve as a special prosecutor … Finally, in your radio interview … you argued repeatedly that ‘the First Amendment does not protect that type of speech,’” wrote Mayes. “When you ran for Pinal County Attorney, your campaign platform included fighting ‘extreme leftist ideologies.’ But now that you are the elected official, you have a duty to execute your authority fairly and impartially. Why under A.R.S. § 12-751, would it not be an anti-SLAPP violation for you to initiate the investigation of a Democratic legislator given your campaign statements and current zealous interest to deter, prevent, or retaliate against Senator Ortiz from exercising her First Amendment Rights?”

A mark, surely that will leave. Miller responded bog-standard MAGA huffing and blowing about his mighty sword. (And why do they laugh at his mighty sword?)

Meanwhile, in Washington:

[Washington State Department of Social and Health Services] serves some of the state’s most vulnerable people, she said, and without an independent ombudsperson on the island, “we can’t get a true feel for what is happening within those institutions.”

This summer, residents have had limited ways to report what happens inside the confines of the secure facility even as new problems arise. The underwater cable to the island broke last month and the facility lost power and experienced rolling blackouts, which shut down phone lines, security cameras and cooling systems on sweltering days.

For the two years Donald Herrick has been detained at the Special Commitment Center, he has never had a physical exam and has spent months with a half-centimeter-long metal screw sticking out from his front tooth. DSHS has not provided a permanent dental remedy. Herrick, who was sentenced in 1997 to nine years in prison for rape, is awaiting trial to determine whether he meets the legal criteria to be civilly committed under Washington law. When a painful cyst formed on Herrick’s back, he said his requests for medical attention were ignored. Not until the cyst swelled to the size of a lime and ruptured was he provided emergency care, he said.

I think I speak for the entire class when I say, “Ooh, ick.”

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, whence Blog Official Iberian Hibernator Friedman of the Plains brings us a tale of by-God authentic alleged cattle rustlin’. From NonDoc:

Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office announced July 30 that Jones had been indicted by the state’s multi-county grand jury on ten charges related to the alleged theft of Schieber’s cattle. According to a sealed indictment sent to media alongside Drummond’s press release, Jones is charged with one count of larceny of livestock and nine counts of branding with intent to defraud. The indictment is scant on details, but it alleges that between January 1 and February 12, Jones “knowingly and willfully stole cattle belonging to Jeff Schieber with the intent to deprive him of said cattle.” Drummond’s office provided slightly more details in its press release, alleging “Jones was hired by a cattle auction facility to transport livestock” and claiming he “took at least nine cows and branded them as his own.”

I think “branding with intent to defraud” is now my favorite crime of political corruption ever. Consarn it.

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.