Law enforcement in Pima County responded to two separate safety incidents connected to Democratic congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza within the span of about a week, including a message detectives say could be interpreted as a threat on her life. The man who sent it was tracked down, found to have an outstanding arrest warrant for domestic violence and disorderly conduct, and was taken to a local hospital over concerns about his mental health rather than charged over the message itself.
A Threatening Message, Then a Hospital Transport
According to AZPM News, a man emailed a concerning message to the Mendoza campaign through an online contact form on September 28. Law enforcement said the message could be interpreted as a threat on Mendoza's life. Detectives located the sender, who was found to have an outstanding warrant for domestic violence and disorderly conduct charges, and he was transported to a hospital out of concern for his mental health. AZPM did not disclose the man's name, and he was not charged over the threatening message.
Mendoza, who is campaigning to represent Tucson's Congressional District 6 and challenging two-term Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani, said the incident was part of a larger pattern she has experienced, according to the same report. She also said she was concerned about the well-being of the man involved. The station's report does not elaborate further on what pattern she was referring to.
A Second Incident Days Later
Less than a week later, on October 3, Tucson police responded to a report of suspicious activity at the Mendoza campaign's field office. Officers encountered a 25-year-old man on the property and escorted him off the grounds, per the same account. No further details on the man's identity or motive were reported.
The incidents near Mendoza's campaign unfolded against the backdrop of a separate federal case involving a Tucson resident accused of threatening the White House. Jacob Hicks, 46, was arrested and criminally charged on October 7 with making an interstate threat to injure after allegedly emailing a bomb threat targeting the White House and other Washington, D.C. locations to Scripps News Tucson on September 23, according to The Mirror US. The station reported the threat to the Department of Justice, which led to an FBI investigation. Hoodline previously reported on the federal charges against Hicks in its own coverage of the bomb threat case. Federal investigators reviewing Hicks' digital activity also uncovered unsent draft emails, also dated September 23, containing similar White House bombing threats addressed to multiple other news outlets, as reported by ABC15 Arizona, which linked the drafts directly to the same email account used in the initial threat.
A High-Stakes Race in a Battleground District
Mendoza brings a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to her campaign, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and a stint as a drill instructor, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. She enlisted at age 17. Mendoza previously ran for state office in Southern Arizona during the 2020 cycle, winning the Democratic primary for Legislative District 11 before losing the general election to Republican Vince Leach, according to AZ Luminaria.
Ciscomani, the Republican incumbent she is now challenging, was first elected in 2022 as the first naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico to represent Arizona in Congress and won re-election in 2024 with 50% of the vote against Democrat Kirsten Engel, AZ Luminaria notes. Arizona's 6th Congressional District spans portions of Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Graham, and Greenlee counties, making eastern Tucson and the surrounding rural areas one of the nation's key toss-up battlegrounds this cycle.
Ciscomani and Mendoza met for their first head-to-head debate on September 10, sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, with the conversation centered on inflation, economic relief, and border security, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The debate took place ahead of the November 3 general election.
Part of a Larger National Pattern
The incidents in Tucson arrive amid a documented nationwide surge in threats against political candidates and officials. The U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section investigated 14,938 concerning statements, behaviors, and direct threats against members of Congress, their families, and staff in 2025, a 58% increase over 2024, according to the United States Capitol Police. The agency expanded formal law enforcement agreements to more than 350 local departments last year to help protect candidates and officials at the local level.
