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The Justice Department has pushed into the legal battle over armed vigilantes who “check” Arizona polls — out of concern about the situation, but have stopped issuing orders.
The officials issued a “statement of interest” Monday in a lawsuit filed in response to gunmen patrolling polling stations near Phoenix.
The League of Women Voters of Arizona is trying to prevent Lions of Liberty and other right-wing groups from organizing what they call “drop box monitoring.”
On Friday, a federal judge declined to ban the Lions of Liberty’s patrols, saying there was a legitimate concern, but not enough evidence to show that someone’s rights were being curtailed.
On Monday, the DOJ said the League’s allegations “raise serious concerns about voter intimidation.”
A handout photo by Maricopa County Elections shows two armed individuals dressed in tactical gear on Oct. 21, looking at a drop box in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona
A man in tactical gear is seen through a ballot box in Mesa, Arizona, on Oct. 21
Their presence sparked a series of complaints and a legal effort to ban groups of viewers
They said “vigilante security efforts” and “private campaigns to video vote voters” likely violate federal voting rights law.
“Citizen-led election observation activities are more likely to put voters in reasonable fear of harassment, intimidation, coercion or interference with their voting rights,” the DOJ added.
The ministry said the First Amendment right to assembly does not allow people to gather to coerce voters.
The League of Women Voters is demanding a court order forbidding armed vigilantes from congregating near the drop boxes, and a hearing is set to be held Tuesday.
The Justice Department’s intervention came after U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi ruled that the vigilantes violated no one’s rights.
The issue has gained national attention through reports of gunmen patrolling outside boxes in Maricopa County — the state’s most populous county — and rural Yavapai County as midterm elections approach.
In mid-October, apparently gunmen positioned themselves at a drop box in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix.
They were wearing tactical gear that reportedly included ballistic vests and left when police arrived.
Their presence led to legal action as activists tried to prevent voter intimidation.
Dave Brehmer and Chad Maier cast their votes for the upcoming midterm elections at the drop box near the Maricopa County Juvenile Court Center in Mesa, Arizona
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, has urged voters to immediately report any harassment to police and file a complaint with his office.
The secretary of state said last week that her office had received six cases of potential voter harassment to the attorney general and the US Department of Justice, as well as a threatening email to the state election director.
State law requires candidates, their campaigners and observers to remain at least 25 meters away from voting locations.
“Plaintiffs have not provided the court with any evidence that the defendants’ conduct poses a real threat,” Judge Liburdi wrote on Friday.
‘On this file, suspects have not made any statements threatening to use unlawful violence against a specific person or group of persons.’
Dropboxes like this are common throughout Arizona but have become highly controversial
The state is one of the centers of struggles over voter rights and electoral fraud.
President Joe Biden won the divided state by just 10,000 votes, ending a string of decades of Republican victories.
The result generated a series of conspiracy theories about how it could have happened.
But multiple investigations, including a partisan “audit” of Maricopa County by Cyber Ninjas, a company hired by Republicans, found no widespread fraud in the 2020 vote.
This time, those conspiracies have led to multiple attempts to control voting.
The US law firm in Arizona pledged to prosecute all violations of federal law but said local law enforcement was “on the front line in efforts to ensure that all qualified voters can exercise their right to vote without intimidation or other abuse in elections.” ‘.
“We will vigorously protect the rights of all Arizonans to vote freely and lawfully in the election,” the office said Wednesday.
“As evidenced by the various cases related to election threats pending federal charges for alleged criminal activity emanating from our state, acts crossing the border will not go unnoticed.”