![[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #136222](https://newsview.top/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/KrisMayes-1024x576.jpg "'Moderate' AG's office turned to groups that spent years suing prisons for recruiting help: emails reveal")
This post was originally published on this site.
Rep Wesley Hunt says Texas needs ‘more police’ as Dems push against law enforcement
Congressman Wesley Hunt, a Republican from Texas, strongly condemns the Democratic Party’s anti-police rhetoric and ‘defund the police’ movement.Hunt argues that leftists believe criminals are victims, leading to increased crime rates and unsafe communities for the most vulnerable.He emphasizes the need for strong law enforcement, contrasting it with the left’s demonization of police.
EXCLUSIVE —Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office repeatedly sought recruiting help from two prominent left-wing legal groups that spent years suing the state’s corrections department alongside Mayes�
Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel Barr sought recommendations from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Berkeley-based Prison Law Office (PLO) for attorneys to handle Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) work inside the Attorney General’s Office and later for candidates to serve as ADCRR general counsel, according to the emails.
Barr already had a long history with both groups before joining Mayes’ office.Prior to his position in theArizona Attorney General’s Office, he was a partner at Perkins Coie, where he spent years litigating alongside the ACLU and PLO in afederal casethat ultimately resulted in a judge finding Arizona’s prison conditions to beconstitutionally inadequate.
Both groups advocate substantial changes to incarceration policy.The ACLU has pursued a nationwide goal ofcutting jail and prison populations by 50%through reforms including decriminalization, bail reform, shorter sentences and clemency, and has called for reductions in immigration detention.The PLO, meanwhile, says it works toreduce incarcerationwhile also litigating on issues related to prison conditions, medical care, disability rights and solitary confinement.
‘THRILL KILLER’ AND DESERT EXECUTIONER — MEET THE DOZENS OF CRIMINALS DEM AG BACKED FOR PAROLE: ‘NO BRAINER’
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 02: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes speaks at an Arizona AFL-CIO GOTV (Get Out the Vote) canvass launch with union members and supporters on November 2, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona.The event highlighted support for Proposition 139 which would codify ‘the fundamental right to an abortion’ in the swing state of Arizona with three days left until Election Day.(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)((Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images))
In November’s general election, Mayes is slated to face Arizona state Sen.Warren Petersen, a Republican, as she seeks to defend her role as the top law enforcement officer in the state.Mayes won her 2022 race by just280 votes, one of the narrowest margins in state history.
” Delaney Corcoran, the campaign manager for Mayes�
“Mayes has consistently fought for funding for Arizona police and cartel task forces — and stands shoulder to shoulder with Arizona sheriffs and police.Together, Mayes and law enforcement have seized 27 million fentanyl pills off of our streets, more than any other Attorney General in state history.”
Mayes hasdefendedArizona against lawsuits from the ACLU challenging laws that allowed state and local police to arrest people illegally entering the country between ports of entry andrestrictedwhen people could film police officers.She latersettledwith the ACLU in the police filming case, agreeing to permanently prohibit the unconstitutional police recording law.
Though Mayes describes herself as a “moderate” and sparred with liberal legal groups, Barr — one of her top aides — repeatedly sought candidate recommendations from the progressive ACLU and PLO for corrections-related legal roles.
DRAG QUEENS, TRANS PASTOR, ABORTION RALLIES: INSIDE DEM GOVERNOR HOPEFUL’S PROGRESSIVE CHURCH
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen speaks during a rally for vice presidential nominee JD Vance at Arizona Christian University on July 31, 2024.(Imagn)
“I am looking to bring as much ADCRR work back in-house as possible in the Arizona AG’s Office.To do that, I need to hire attorneys to represent ADCRR in numerous capacities.If you know of anyone who may be interested in helping to turnaround things around here, please let me know,” Barr wrote to representatives of the ACLU and PLO in February 2023.
In April of that year, Barr again turned to the groups, this time seeking possible candidates for ADCRR’s top legal position.
“Let me know if you have any suggested candidates,” he wrote, forwarding an email to PLO and ACLU representatives soliciting applications for ADCRR general counsel.When his efforts to fill the role of ADCRR’s top lawyer bore no fruit, he again turned to the two groups.
“Still no takers for the ADCRR general counsel job.If you have any suggestions, please let me know,” he wrote to them on May 11, 2023.
That same day, ACLU National Prison Project director David Fathi responded, promising to “redouble” his efforts to find a candidate for Barr.
Among the priorities of the ACLU National Prison Project are “substantially reducing the incarcerated population” and promoting a criminal justice system in which incarceration is used only as a “last resort.” Fathi has also criticized relying on police and prisons to address drug problems,statingin one social media post that “we will never solve drug problems with police and prisons.”
Corene Kendrick, the deputy director of the National Prison Project, responded in turn to Barr’s email that one of her possible recommendations was already “enjoying suing ADCRR in civil rights damages cases in her spare time of running her café in Carrizozo,” showing that at least one prospective candidate being floated to Barr had experience suing ADCRR in civil-rights cases.
SOCIALISTS SET SIGHTS ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF GOVERNMENT AS GOP WARNS OF BIGGER PLAN UNFOLDING
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is warning about cartel drones at the southern border, which a new bipartisan law aims to tackle.(Getty/iStock)
�s unclear what further assistance, if any, the PLO and ACLU gave the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.ADCRR ultimately hiredAshley Oddoto serve as its general counsel.
Before joining ADCRR, Oddo led Arizona State University’sAcademy for Justiceand had backed several criminal-justice positions associated with the left, including addressing systemic racism in policing and pardoning people convicted of nonviolent federal marijuana offenses.
Oddo has no institutional affiliation with the ACLU or the PLO nor was her name mentioned by either organization in email communications with Barr.
Fathi, for instance, requested a phone conversation with Barr in February 2023, and Barr responded two minutes later.Fathi disclosed in another email that the director of ADCRR reached out to him “to schedule a call about working together on ADCRR issues.”
Don Specter, alongtime PLO attorney, also reported having a “productive meeting” with the head of ADCRR in June 2023.
To reduce incarceration, the PLO has pursued litigation that contributed tocourt-ordered reductionsin California’s prison population, supported credit systems that can advance release or parole eligibility, and advocated reentry programs allowing eligible people to serve portions of their sentences in the community.
The organizations Barr turned to for recruiting assistance have taken positions on policing and incarceration that differ sharply from Mayes’ public law-and-order posture.
ARIZONA DEM AG BLASTED FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ CLAIM RESIDENTS CAN SHOOT ICE AGENTS UNDER STATE LAWS
The FBI is investigating the incident, which occurred Tuesday in Phoenix.(Davel5957 via Getty Images, File)
“As Attorney General, Mayes has been a partner to law enforcement, delivering millions of dollars in funding and resources so border sheriffs and Arizona police can keep us safe,” her campaign website reads.“She has locked up drug cartel members, seized more than 27 million deadly fentanyl pills off our streets and gone after criminals trying to take advantage of our kids.”
TheACLU,meanwhile, has explicitly advocateddefunding or divestingfrom police departments and redirecting resources toward other community services — publishing blogs with titles such as “Defunding the PoliceWill Actually Make Us Safer” and “Local Officials: Pledge to Divest from Police and Reinvest in Black Communities.” Additionally, the legal advocacy group has urged Congress to cut federal police funding while also calling on state and local leaders toreduce law enforcement spending.
The PLO likewiseadvocatesreducing incarceration, expanding release opportunities and increasing community-based alternatives.
Those positions differ sharply from Mayes’ stated position on police funding.During her 2022 campaign, Mayes responded with “a resounding no” when asked whether she supported defunding the police.
onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.
Barr, Fathi, Oddo, Specter, Kendrick, the Arizona Attorney General�
![[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #135788](https://newsview.top/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/collins-jackson-debate-oct.-15-2026-bangor-maine-1024x576.jpeg "'Oh, shut up!': Democrat snaps at Collins after heckler drives Maine Senate debate off the rails")
![[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #135781](https://newsview.top/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Mary-peltola-1024x576.jpg "Democrat's debate 'cue cards' steal spotlight in high-stakes Senate clash")