Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Friday that her office is investigating whether former President Donald Trump’s violent remarks about former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney broke the law.
“I have already asked my criminal division chief to start looking at that statement, analyzing it for whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona’s laws,” Mayes, a Democrat, said during a local TV interview. She noted that Trump’s comments “are not helpful as we prepare for our election and as we try to make sure that we keep the peace at our polling places and in our state.”
At an event in Arizona on Thursday, Trump suggested that Cheney wouldn’t be such a “war hawk” if she had guns “trained on her face.” He said, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her… You know when the guns are trained on her face — you know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building.”
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office confirmed they are “looking into” whether Trump’s remarks violated Arizona law. Vice President Kamala Harris called the comments “disqualifying” for anyone seeking the presidency, saying Trump is “increasingly unstable and unhinged.”
Trump’s campaign spokesperson defended the former president’s rhetoric, calling Cheney a “warmonger” and saying Trump was “100% correct” in his assessment. However, the Arizona investigation signals growing legal scrutiny over Trump’s increasingly violent language against political opponents on the campaign trail.
As the 2024 election approaches, the probe by the state’s Democratic attorney general underscores the potential legal risks Trump faces over his inflammatory rhetoric, which critics argue is dangerously escalating. The outcome of this investigation could have significant implications for Trump’s political future.
