Police have arrested a suspect in connection with three separate shootings targeting a Democratic National Committee campaign office in suburban Phoenix, marking an escalation in political violence as the presidential campaign intensifies in the battleground state.
Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, faces three felony counts of acts of terrorism and additional charges related to the shootings at Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign field office in Tempe, authorities announced Wednesday. The suspect allegedly fired BB pellets and later escalated to gunshots at the office’s glass front door and window during early morning attacks on September 16, September 23, and October 6.
The violence forced the closure of one of Harris’s eighteen Arizona field offices, where Democrats had been organizing campaign efforts in the crucial swing state. No one was inside the building during any of the attacks, police said.
Kelly is also accused of hanging politically charged signs lined with razor blades on palm trees Tuesday in Ahwatukee, an affluent Phoenix suburb that has increasingly voted Democratic in recent elections. The hand-painted signs reportedly contained criticism of Democrats and the Harris campaign.
The incidents underscore growing concerns about political violence in Arizona, a key battleground state where competition between Harris and former President Donald Trump has been particularly intense. The case adds to a pattern of political violence this campaign season, including reported assassination attempts targeting the Republican presidential nominee.
Tempe police planned to release additional details about Kelly’s arrest during an afternoon news conference, coinciding with the suspect’s initial court appearance.
