Vicky Arias, FISM News
On Thursday, Phoenix police made an arrest in connection with a burglary that took place just 48 hours prior at the campaign headquarters of Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee for governor in Arizona.
Law enforcement detained Daniel Mota Dos Reis, 36, after a police officer recognized him from surveillance video of the alleged crime scene. Reis was already in custody on suspicion of an unrelated burglary committed on Tuesday and was, subsequently, re-arrested for this separate allegation.
NBC News reported that “there does not appear to be any evidence that the break-in was politically motivated” despite accusations from Democrats and the Hobbs campaign that Republican nominee, Kari Lake, was to blame either directly or for motivating others by backing Trump in his election fraud claims.
“Make no mistake — this is a direct result of Kari Lake and fringe Republicans spreading lies and hate and inciting violence — and it is despicable,” the Arizona Democratic Party said in a statement.
Additionally, the Hobbs campaign announced that “a break-in [had] occurred at [their] campaign headquarters,” adding that “for nearly two years, Kari Lake and her allies have been spreading dangerous misinformation and inciting threats against anyone they see fit. The threats against Arizonans attempting to exercise their constitutional rights and their attacks on elected officials are the direct result of a concerted campaign of lies and intimidation.”
Lake responded to the accusations, saying that they were “absurd” and that the alleged burglary “sounds like a Jussie Smollett Part II,” referencing the Chicago case, in which Smollett was convicted of felony disorderly conduct for lying to police and staging a hate crime that he blamed on MAGA-hat wearing Trump supporters.
The Arizona governor’s race has been fraught with drama ever since Democrat nominee Katie Hobbs refused to debate her Republican running mate, a decision for which Hobbs has received heavy criticism.
Hobbs defended her decision not to debate Lake, stating that “a debate never helps a candidate win [and] it’s not something [voters are] concerned about.”
Many have attributed Hobbs’ refusal to debate to a lack of transparency, with some, like Sean Hannity, even calling it “unfair,” saying that “Hobbs can’t seem to muster up the courage” to debate Lake.
At a recent campaign event, Republican candidate Lake told the crowd that she “consider[s] a debate a job interview [and] if you don’t show up for the job interview, you don’t get the job … [Hobbs] is afraid and we need someone who is a fighter right now.”
.@Karilake. "I'm half joking but I'm also half serious. I think we've done more events today than @katiehobbs has done in the entirety of this campaign."
Man dressed as Waldo: "WHERE'S KATIE?"
Kari: "Where is Katie?" pic.twitter.com/vYSbKsIvgE
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 20, 2022