Fact check: Phoenix mailbox fire was not politically motivated
On Oct. 24, Phoenix police arrested a man in connection with a central Phoenix postal box fire that damaged mail-in ballots. The 35-year-old man was booked on suspicion of arson, a felony count, according to police.
Was this a politically motivated action related to the election? Authorities say no.
The drive-up collection box was at the U.S. post office on Seventh Avenue near Indian School Road, according to the Phoenix Fire Department. Police said the fire occurred at about 12:40 a.m. Oct. 24.
Firefighters forced open the box and extinguished the fire, a spokesperson for the department said. The number of ballots damaged was not known, they said.
The incident differed from what happened Oct. 28 in Portland and nearby Vancouver, Washington, when incendiary devices were set off at two ballot drop boxes , destroying hundreds of ballots in the process, the Associated Press reported.
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The attacks on Oregon and Washington ballots disrupted the electoral process and were "a direct attack on democracy," one official said.
The incident in Phoenix was not politically motivated or related to the election, Phoenix police said. The man ignited the fire because he wanted to be arrested, police said.
The man was initially taken into custody for an outstanding and unrelated arrest warrant, police said. He was released from prison in June after a six-month sentence for a February 2023 drug paraphernalia crime, according to records from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry.
Maricopa County braces for security issues
Concern for voter safety and for election officials counting the votes prompted Maricopa County officials to apply increased security measures as Election Day draws near.
No overt threats to voters have been reported, and Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner said he was confident that he had the staff and resources he needed to keep voters and election officials safe amid a contentious presidential cycle.
"My resources and equipment are dialed up and ready to go," Skinner said. "This is very fluid. As the environment and conditions dictate, we will make sure that level of security is provided there.
"There is no place in politics or this process where criminal activity is allowed," Skinner said. "There is zero tolerance."
Coleby Phillips is a reporter at The Arizona Republic focusing on election misinformation. The work is made possible through a grant from the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. Reach him at
