'Jussie Smollett part 2': Lake blasts Hobbs for campaign office burglary accusation

Kari Lake, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, hit back at her opponent for suggesting she was responsible for a burglary at her campaign headquarters.

The campaign of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Lake’s Democratic challenger, said on Wednesday that its Phoenix campaign office was broken into earlier in the week.

"A break-in occurred at our campaign headquarters. We continue to cooperate with law enforcement as they investigate, and we are thankful to the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department for their work to keep us safe," Nicole DeMont, Hobbs’ campaign manager said in a statement.

Local police have since arrested a homeless individual Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in connection to the incident. 

DeMont added that Hobbs had faced “hundreds of death threats and threats of violence” over the course of the race, blaming Lake for creating a contentious, dangerous environment.

“Let’s be clear: for nearly two years Kari Lake and her allies have been spreading dangerous misinformation and inciting threats against anyone they see fit,” said DeMont in the statement.

“The threats against Arizonans attempting to exercise their constitutional rights and their attacks on elected officials are the direct result of a concerted campaign of lies and intimidation.”

The Arizona Democratic Party went further when it retweeted Hobbs’ statement, saying the burglary was “a direct result of Kari Lake and fringe Republicans spreading lies and hate and inciting violence – and it is despicable.”

Unfortunately, Katie and so many other elected officials are victims of threats and intimidation tactics like this. Make no mistake — this is a direct result of Kari Lake and fringe Republicans spreading lies and hate and inciting violence — and it is despicable. https://t.co/NzUkHGHx3W

— Arizona Democratic Party (@azdemparty) October 27, 2022

Lake called the allegations “absolutely absurd” when asked about them at after an event honoring first responders later that day.

“Are you really buying that? Because this sounds like a Jussie Smollett part 2,” she said to the CNN reporter who asked the question, referring to the Chicago actor found guilty of faking a hate crime back in March.

“You’re letting a woman who has been running a terrible campaign direct you to a story like this? You know she is running a bad campaign.”

“I can’t believe that she would blame my amazing people or blame me... I don’t even know where her campaign office is. I’m assuming it’s in a basement somewhere because that’s where she’s been campaigning,” Lake added, repeating an attack she made about how Hobbs had been avoiding debates.

Arizona police arrested a suspect in connection to the Hobbs campaign office burglary at 7:00 p.m. who has been identified as a homeless man, according to a press release published by local police.