Arizona's political scene was hit with a lightning bolt yesterday as Attorney General Kris Mayes released names attached to a series of hardcore indictments, part of an ongoing probing into a fake electors' scandal that's rocked the state to its very core.

Among those indicted are several high-profile figures, folks like Kelli Ward, the former chair of the Arizona Republican Party, and her husband, Michael Ward, charges against them range from class 2 felonies all the way down to class 5, encompassing fraud, forgery, and conspiracy, according to a press release from the Arizona Attorney General's Office. This significant announcement follows a state grand jury's decision, indicating the gravity and the depth of the investigation that has cast a large shadow over the credibility of the state's electoral processes.

The list of those indicted reads like a who's who of Arizona's political operative class, aside from the Wards, it includes Tyler Bowyer, former Arizona State Representative Anthony Kern, and James Lamon—many a figure involved in the 2020 election challenges, this legal move by AG Mayes underlines that there's a price to pay when playing fast and loose with the foundations of democracy, snarling the already complicated and deeply divided political landscape. Further individuals are named in the indictment, but these names have been redacted pending their day in court, their opportunity to stand, and be accounted for before a jury of their peers. An unredacted version awaits, its looming inevitability a sword of Damocles over those yet unnamed.

While the indicted remain "presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and convicted by a jury of their peers", as the AG's press release states, the indictments have reverberated through Arizona's political corridors. This is a definitive statement of intent from AG Mayes' office—a willingness to engage in full-court press against election interference, signaling a new chapter in the battle for sanctity at the ballot box.