In a letter dated January 23, 2026, Arizona Senate Majority Leader John Kavanaugh (R) demanded the state’s Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) “step down in disgrace” after her comments about the shooting of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

During a January 20, 2026, interview posted by 12 News NBC, Mayes discussed Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law, noting that it is one of the most expansive such laws in the country.

She said, “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 if you reasonably believe your life is in danger and you’re in your house or in your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.”

Mayes added, “It’s a fact that we have a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law and, in other states, un-uniformed, masked people who can’t be identified as police officers.”

She went on to talk about the importance of having uniforms and adding, “Now, you’re not allowed to shoot peace officers, but… how do you know they are a peace officer?”

Mayes began the interview by claiming ICE “is very poorly trained” and made clear she does not consider them “real law enforcement.”

Majority Leader Kavanaugh released a letter in response to Mayes in which he said, in part, “Kris Mayes needs to immediately recant these statements… And given the severity of the danger she has created, she should step down in disgrace. Arizona deserves an Attorney General who defends law enforcement, upholds the rule of law, and understands the consequences of her words. Mayes has proven she is unfit for this office.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.