By: E&P Staff Last year's controversial arrests of Village Voice Media (VVM) executives Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin have become a campaign issue in Arizona.
The Democratic candidate challenging Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is running a radio ad accusing Thomas of ordering the October 2007 arrests of the two because they reported in VVM Phoenix New Times that they had been served a sweeping subpoena from a special prosecutor demanding information about the alternative paper's online readers.
According to an account in Thursday's Arizona Republic by reporters Yvonne Wingett and JJ Hensley, the commercial on behalf of county attorney candidate Tim Nelson says that Thomas is responsible for "arresting journalists in the dark of night in front of their families because of what they published."
Village Voice Media's Phoenix New Times has long been highly critical of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and many have suggested the arrests were part of that feud. The arrests provoked a public outcry, and the special prosecutor's investigation was ended.
The Republic reported Thursday that David Hendershott, a chief deputy for Arpaio had signed an affidavit saying he -- not Thomas or the special prosecutor -- had ordered the arrests. It was the first public admission of who ordered the arrests, the newspaper said.
"Hendershott, a long-time target of the alternative weekly and top aide to the sheriff, stated that on Oct. 17 of last year, he 'made the decision based on good, sufficient and legal cause to order the arrest of Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin,'" the Republic reported. "The next day, he said, 'he gave directions to Maricopa County deputies to affect the arrests.'
Thomas is demanding Nelson stop running the radio ads referring to the arrests.
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