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Maricopa County Sheriff's Office provided crowd control as federal agents served Zipps warrant

Law enforcement outside Zipps Sports Grill on Mill Avenue near University Drive in Tempe on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Nick Sanchez
/
KJZZ
Law enforcement outside Zipps Sports Grill on Mill Avenue near University Drive in Tempe on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Zipps Sports Grill says they are closed after federal authorities served search warrants at locations throughout metro Phoenix. At least 31 people were detained.

Federal authorities served search warrants at Zipps Sports Grills on Monday throughout metro Phoenix.

But what resulted from the 15 search warrants is unclear.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona said items and information collected on Monday from Zipps Sports Grill locations are being reviewed.

Charges in what the office calls an ongoing, long term criminal investigation could come late this week. But the spokesperson did not answer if any arrests have been made.

MCSO banned from immigration enforcement

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office provided crowd control outside a Tempe location.

The Sheriff’s Office is banned from doing immigration enforcement — in connection with a long-running racial profiling case.

But a spokesperson says deputies were asked to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintain peace during an operation.

Ricardo Reyes closely follows the racial profiling case. He says the Sheriff’s Office should never be involved with ICE.

“Tempe PD could have easily been the ones who help with crowd control. The sheriff’s department does not need to be there for that,” Reyes said.

In a statement, Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said if there had been effective coordination and cooperation between federal and local authorities, situations such as Minneapolis may have been prevented.

“So if (Sheridan) really wants to be that peacekeeper, what he should be doing is going over there and making it clear to the ICE agents that he is there to make sure that they don’t cross the line. Because that is what we have seen over and over again,” Reyes said.

Protest against raids in Phoenix

About 200 people protested near one of the Phoenix locations of Zipps Sports Grill where federal authorities served a search warrant on Monday.

“Arizona has been here before, folks. We see what happens when fear-based enforcement is allowed to run unchecked,” said Juliana Manzanarez, an immigration attorney.

ICE enforcement in Arizona

Matthew Casey has won Public Media Journalists Association and Edward R. Murrow awards since he joined KJZZ as a senior field correspondent in 2015.