Kari Lake: We will not be intimidated
Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake joined 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' to provide an update after packages with a white powder substance were sent to her campaign headquarters.
Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said Monday that she will not allow bad actors to intimidate her after "suspicious" items were mailed to her headquarters in what is believed to be a politically motivated threat against her campaign.
Lake's Phoenix headquarters was forced to shut down Sunday after her staffers opened an envelope containing a suspicious white powder. Lake told Fox News on Monday that members of the FBI, local law enforcement, fire department and bomb squad responded immediately. Multiple envelopes were retrieved by law enforcement for analysis, but the results have not yet been shared with her, she said.
"We had delivered at our office a couple of envelopes that had white powder in them, one of them our staffer opened up and immediately realized there was a problem with it, threw it in the garbage can and then another staffer grabbed it from the garbage can and then all of a sudden we had several people exposed to it," Lake said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) embraces Arizona Republican nominee for governor Kari Lake, who he has endorsed, during a campaign rally attended by former U.S. President Donald Trump at Legacy Sports USA on October 09, 2022 in Mesa, Arizona. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The suspicious powder was accompanied by "incredibly vulgar and threatening" letters, Lake revealed.
"We take it as a legitimate threat, but we’re just happy our staffers are okay," she said, adding that while she's been busy on the campaign trail in the waning hours before Election Day, she has been regularly monitoring the health of her exposed staffers.
"So far, so good, but we are counting on the FBI to let us know if we should be concerned of any danger," she said.
While Lake found the attack against her campaign disturbing, shee appeared unfazed, telling Carlson that she's bracing for "much more" if she wins the governorship in Tuesday's election.
Republican Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake. With just days to go until election day, Kari Lake is campaigning throughout the state with other GOP candidates. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
"I'll be honest, this is minor compared to what I’m going to go up against when I win this race. We are going to secure the border and take down the cartels at the border. I don’t think threatening letters are going to be the worst of it. I think there’s much more coming," she told Carlson.
If elected, Lake said she will not allow herself to cave to intimation tactics, vowing to remain steadfast in fulfilling her campaign promises for Arizona voters.
"We are ready for it. We will not be intimidated. We have big issues facing us, we have a border with narco-terrorists in control," she said. "And while I’m upset that these letters were sent, and I'm monitoring and care deeply about my staff, I know that there will be more threats to come, and we will stare them down because we will secure Arizona."
CHANDLER, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 05: Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (C) speaks during a get out the vote campaign rally on November 05, 2022 in Chandler, Arizona. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Lake's comments come less than 24 hours before the former local news anchor turned staunch critic of the press, will face off against Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs in the Arizona race for governor. Last week, police responded to a reported break-in at Hobbs’ campaign headquarters in Phoenix. Hobbs initially blamed Lake’s rhetoric, but it was later revealed that an illegal immigrant, 36-year-old Daniel Mota Dos, was arrested in the burglary case.
Speaking with reporters on Sunday night, Lake attributed the rise in political polarization to the media.
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""We are in such polarized times and this is one of the reasons I walked away from the fake news media because I realized that the media is a big part of it, pitting people against one another," Lake said. "You guys want us like this? I believe that Americans and Arizonans are much more aligned on the issues than you lead us to believe."
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.