Southwest
Arizona election worker accused of stealing security device was hired despite felony theft arrest months prior
A temporary election worker in Maricopa County, Arizona, who was captured on surveillance video allegedly stealing a “digital magnetic key” from a tabulation center last week, had been arrested just months ago for allegedly removing a total of $1,800 in cash from the register while working as a cashier at a nearby grocery store, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
The development raises concerns about the vetting of election staffers ahead of the 2024 race.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates, when pressed by a reporter, admitted that the suspect, 27-year-old Walter Ringfield, was in a felony diversion program – information that did not come up during a criminal background check conducted before he was hired as a temporary election worker.
“We’re not going to get into the specifics of this case at this point, but we do, for all of our temporary employees, and he was a temporary employee in elections, we do a criminal background check. And when we did that criminal background check, we did not find this. He was on diversion,” Gates said. “It takes 2-3,000 temporary employees to run an election in Maricopa County. So security is very important.”
ARIZONA ELECTION WORKER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING SECURITY DEVICE FROM BALLOT TABULATION CENTER
Walter Ringfield was arrested on suspicion of theft Friday. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
Ringfield, of Phoenix, had been arrested on Sept. 30, 2023, at Frys Food & Drug, a grocery store chain, located on North 18th Avenue in Phoenix for theft, according to a probable cause statement obtained by Fox News Digital. The evening before, Ringfield was working at cashier register 9, and afterward management noticed more than $1,800 was missing from Ringfield’s shift, the document says.
“There was an investigation with loss prevention and management to review security footage which captured Walter taking customers’ cash at the register and [pocketing] it over several transactions amounting to over 1800 dollars,” the document says. Ringfield was brought for questioning with management and loss prevention and “later admitted to the theft and had all the cash which stolen from yesterday in his front pant pocket.”
“When asked by the officer whose money this was he stated it was Frys cash, and he was returning it,” the document says. “During Miranda Rights, Walter stated he has been working for Frys for 2 weeks. He was struggling to pay rent and could not pay bills. Walter admitted he took the money from the register. Walter was subsequently booked into jail for his listed charge. Frys desired prosecution.”
In the section asking whether the defendant serviced in the U.S. military, the document is checked “yes,” and under branches served in, indicated the U.S. Navy.
The document also lists a prior arrest for disorderly conduct and fighting. It says Ringfield is not currently on active duty, is not homeless and is not in need of the court to provide an interpreter.
Under place of the birth, it indicates U.S., and cites present U.S. citizenship.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Navy’s personnel office seeking more information on Ringfield’s military service but did not immediately hear back.
Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates holds up a black security key as an example of one stolen from the tabulation center. (KSAZ)
The case was opened by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office 10 months ago.
Ringfield was arrested again on Friday in connection to the theft of a security fob at the Maricopa County Elections building in Phoenix, authorities said.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner was asked if authorities had a reason to believe the theft was “politically motivated.” He said he could not speculate at this time, explaining that investigators “are still combing through a lot of digital evidence that were taken at the scene and going through items that were taken in the search warrant.”
“We don’t have any indication at this point, but we’re not ruling it out. And we’re going to leave no stone unturned. We’re going to make sure that we do evaluate all of the evidence that was out there and ensure that we follow up on anything that may be potentially directing us somewhere else or other actors that may be involved in this. But at this point, we do not have anything that indicates that.”
Walter Ringfield was caught on footage allegedly taking security equipment from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Arizona on June 20, 2024. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
Maricopa County, which has had repeated tabulation equipment concerns, has become a hotbed of election-fraud claims in recent years, especially during the last presidential election in 2020.
Gates said they do not expect the incident to “have any impact whatsoever on the primary,” which is scheduled for July 30.
“The security fobs are used in conjunction with special secure tablets during the election,” the probable cause document says. “Because the security fob was removed from the secure facility, all the security fobs and secure tablets will need to be reprogrammed to be secure for the upcoming election. The director of the facility states that the estimated cost of the reprogramming would be greater than $19,000, and the secure operation of the facility is greatly impeded until the reprogramming is complete.”
Gates said all the tabulators have been reprogrammed, and the county conducted a logic and accuracy test and notified the political parties.
ELECTION OFFICIALS IN ALL 50 STATES URGED TO SEEK INFO FROM BIDEN ADMIN TO PREVENT NONCITIZENS FROM VOTING
Walter Ringfield was caught on footage taking a magnetic security key from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Arizona on June 20, 2024. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
On Thursday, Ringfield was captured on surveillance cameras walking past a desk and multiple tabulators, the document says. Ringfield stops at the desk and grabs a “red scrunchy wrist lanyard with a security fob and keys attached” and continues walking, the document says. He then allegedly puts the security fob and lanyard into the right pocket of his shorts and “immediately after, he raises his arms to stretch.”
The document says Ringfield was confronted by his employer about the theft and “Walter told them he did not take the fob and lanyard.”
Ringfield told the employer, “if he did mistakenly take it, it may be inside his car because it wasn’t in his pocket when he got home,” the document says. Ringfield allowed his employer and security to look inside his vehicle, and they observed “a red plastic lanyard on the center console shifter, and a plastic tag identifying the station one which matched the missing keys,” but the fob was not located at that time.
The next day, detectives went to Ringfield’s residence in Phoenix and arrested him while he was outside.
Walter Ringfield was captured on security footage walking past desks at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Arizona on June 20, 2024. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
“Detectives were able to see through the window into Walter’s Acura which was backed into the driveway and could see a red plastic item on the shifter consistent with what the employer and security observed,” the document says. “Walter was interviewed post Miranda and said he worked at MCTEC and was fired because they thought he stole something.”
Walter admitted to detectives that he took the fob but claimed he had it only for approximately 20 minutes and then gave it back.
Ringfield claimed he took the fob because his job was temporary, and he was trying to make it permanent, so he wanted to clean up.
Detectives executed a search warrant at Ringfield’s residence and the security fob was located inside the master bedroom on top of a dresser, the document says.
Unlike the one from months ago, the probable cause document in last week’s arrest ticks the “unknown” box in the section asking if the defendant served in the U.S. military.
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Long Beach will hold a pride festival this weekend after the one they originally had scheduled was canceled.
Long Beach city officials said the celebration was nixed after the nonprofit that organizes it, Long Beach Pride, failed to submit the required information for an event permit.
It was supposed to start on Friday and last through Sunday.
“Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the City did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards,” the city of Long Beach said in a statement. “With event programming scheduled to begin on May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.”
Officials noted that they were working to see if a “shortened event” could be held this weekend, and indeed, an agreement was reached to stage a one-day gathering on Sunday.
Billed as “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” and emceed by comedian and drag queen Jewels, it will still bring the city’s LGBTQ community together after Sunday morning’s Long Beach Pride Parade, which was not canceled.
“Long Beach Pride weekend is a culmination of celebrations put on by our community, including our many vibrant restaurants, bars and businesses, and that will never change,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release issued late Saturday night. “Along with the Pride Parade, we are proud to join the party with this new event that reaffirms what this City has always stood for: that every person belongs here.”
“The festival may have been canceled, but Long Beach drag artists don’t cancel joy,” added Jewels Long Beach.
The one-day “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” festival will take place at Bixby Park from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. A free event, it will include music by several performers and a drag show.
More information can be found here.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
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