Kris Mayes examines Trump's 'nine barrels' comment about Liz Cheney

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is investigating comments made by former President Donald Trump and wonders how former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney would feel if guns were “pointed at her face,” a potentially criminal offense.

“I have already asked my criminal division chief to begin reviewing this statement and analyzing it to determine whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona law,” Mayes, a Democrat, said during Friday's taping of the Sunday Square news program Channel 12 -Out,” according to 12 News.

“I'm not ready to say now whether it was or not, but it's not helpful as we prepare for our election and try to make sure we keep the peace in our polling places and in our state,” said she.

Richie Taylor, Mayes' spokesman, told the Arizona Republic that the office was investigating whether “Trump's comments about Liz Cheney violated Arizona law.” He added that the office had no further comment at this time.

Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Mayes' investigation into the comments was “just a desperate attempt to help Kamala Harris' failed campaign.”

Trump made the comment while disparaging Cheney, a harsh critic of the former president, during an appearance with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson on Thursday at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. It faced stiff opposition from Cheney, Vice President Kamala Harris and others.

Trump claimed Cheney was a “radical warhawk” who would send Americans to war, remarking at the event: “Let's put them there with a gun that's shooting at them with nine barrels. OK? Let's see how she feels about it. Do you know when? The guns are pointed at her face.”

“This is how dictators destroy free nations,” Cheney said Friday on X.com about Trump’s comments. “They threaten those who speak out against them with death. We cannot trust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.”

It is unclear what the “nine barrels” might refer to. Some, including Harris, said Trump had indicated he wanted to see Cheney executed by “firing squad.”

“Donald Trump sat down with Tucker Carlson in a late-night town hall and suggested that Republican Liz Cheney face a firing squad,” Harris' campaign team said Friday morning.

Trump's statement that Cheney would “leave a gun there” served to express his apparent position that she was a “war hawk.” After the violent images, Trump went on to tell Carlson: “They're all war hawks when they sit in a nice building in Washington and say, 'Oh man, let's send 10,000 troops straight into the jaws of the enemy.' '”

Trump emphasized what he meant by the comment on Friday, telling reporters that Cheney “kills people… She wants to kill people unnecessarily.”

Mayes has been criticized by Republicans for politicizing her office's enforcement efforts, particularly due to the state's indictment of 18 people in the fraud voter case related to the 2020 election.

That investigation concluded that Trump was an unindicted conspirator. Prosecutors asked the grand jury to resign after jurors considered indicting him.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

Kris Mayes examines Trump's 'nine barrels' comment about Liz Cheney

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