Tempe police have arrested a suspect in connection to three shootings at a Democratic National Committee office.
Within 20 days, there were three separate shootings that damaged the Democratic National Committee campaign office in Tempe. It's one of 18 Harris field offices in Arizona.
Police say 60-year-old Jeffrey Michael Kelly allegedly fired BB pellets and gunshots at the glass front door of the office.
No one was inside during the shootings, which occurred over a three week period in September and early October. Kelly is also accused of hanging several hand-painted political signs lined with razor blades in Ahwatukee. The signs appeared to attack Democrats and presidential nominee Vice President Harris.
Authorities say they seized more than 120 guns and 250,000 rounds of ammunition from the home of the man accused of shooting into a Democratic committee office in Tempe.
The suspect is facing multiple counts of terrorism and firearm violations.
Federal agents told a Maricopa County prosecutor that they also found scopes, body armor, silencers and a machine gun. That large cache has led authorities to believe he may have been preparing for a mass casualty event.
Police said Kelly allegedly fired BB pellets and then gunshots at the glass front door and a window of the Arizona Democrats' field office in the early morning hours of Sept. 16, Sept. 23 and Oct. 6.
Police said he also hung political signs with bags of white powder labeled “biohazard” in Ahwatukee.
“There is no place in the city of Tempe for political threats or intimidation. Arizona is in the national spotlight right now. All eyes are on us,” Tempe Police Chief Ken McCoy said
According Kelly's attorney, he is a retired aerospace engineer who at one time had top security clearance.
Arizona is one of the battleground states where the competition between Harris and former President Donald Trump has been particularly intense.
Political violence has already marred the campaign season, with the Republican presidential nominee being targeted by assassination attempts at a campaign rally and at one of Trump's Florida golf courses.
-
State Sen. J.D. Mesnard says 90 — 30 senators and 60 representatives — is too few. So he is proposing to add 30 more to the state House. -
Proposals mandating more Arizona legislators, state agencies sharing data on undocumented immigrants and rules around photo radar are under discussion at the state Capitol. -
Arizona is poised to have a mine inspector race. The office has a Democratic challenger for the first time since 2018. -
A grassroots coalition of Arizona parents and educators filed the final text of a school voucher reform initiative with the secretary of state this week. That was the final step before volunteers can start collecting signatures in order to send the issue to voters. -
Jaime Molera and Sam Richard joined The Show talk about a pair of federal investigations into the 2020 election in Arizona, some changes in congressional races and more.
