Arizona attorney general investigating Trump’s rifle comments about Cheney

The Arizona attorney general's office said it is investigating former President Trump’s comments about former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as a death threat under state laws, in a statement to The Hill. 

“I have already asked my criminal division chief to start looking at that statement, analyzing it for whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona's laws," Attorney General Kris Mayes told 12NEWS in Phoenix on Friday.

"I'm not prepared now to say whether it was or it wasn't, but it is not helpful as we prepare for our election and as we try to make sure that we keep the peace at our polling places and in our state," the Democrat said during a taping of "Sunday Square Off."

In Arizona, intimidating statements or threats can warrant a Class 1 misdemeanor or Class 6 felony, which can result in up to four months to two years in prison. Cheney also equated the former president’s comments to a death threat on Friday in a post on social platform X. 

“This is how dictators destroy free nations,” she wrote. “They threaten those who speak against them with death.”

Trump criticized Cheney’s foreign policy in a fireside chat with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK. Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face,” he said. “You know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, 'oh, gee, we’ll, let’s send — let’s send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy,'” the Republican nominee stated.

Within hours, his comments gained scrutiny from leaders in both parties and his opponent Vice President Harris, who said the remarks should be “disqualifying.”

“He has increased his violent rhetoric, Donald Trump has, about political opponents, and in great detail … suggested rifles should be trained on former Rep. Liz Cheney. This must be disqualifying,” Harris said in the battleground state of Wisconsin. “Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president.”

The Trump campaign tried to divert criticism by clarifying Trump’s statements and labeling it another attack from the Democratic candidate. 

“This is just a desperate attempt to help out Kamala Harris’ failing campaign," Trump's national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Hill.