Arizona man sues former Apache county attorney over election intimidation
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A former candidate for schools superintendent in Apache County is suing the former county attorney and two others who he says intimidated him to drop out of the race.
Fernando ‘Fernie’ Madrid was running against Joy Whiting, the wife of then-County Attorney Michael Whiting.
The lawsuit is set to be filed on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in downtown Phoenix by the non-profit Institute for Justice. Whiting is being sued along with Daryl Greer and Trent Jensen, who once worked at the county attorney’s office, and the lawsuit describes them as “henchmen” used to intimidate Madrid to drop out of the race in 2024.
In the lawsuit, attorneys claim Michael Whiting used two of his employees to surveil and photograph Madrid and his home. They also claim that the men threw rocks at Madrid’s home and assaulted him while he was collecting signatures to be on the ballot.
https://www.azfamily.com/2026/02/24/arizona-man-sues-former-apache-county-attorney-over-election-intimidation/