🎙️ The Buckmaster Showdown: When Prosecutors Try to Silence Journalists Calling for ICE Resistance
⚖️ Clash on the Airwaves: Pima County Attorney and Star Columnist Spar Over How Tucson Should Confront ICE — Conover admits enlisting police chief to moderate Steller's "blanket resistance" rhetoric
Based on the Buckmaster Show for 1/16/26, a daily radio show in Tucson, AZ, interviewing local newsmakers. Analysis and opinions are our own.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🏫 The School Analogy:
Imagine a new bully 😈👊 is at school. The Principal 👨🏫 says, “Everyone stay calm 🧘♂️ and fill out a report 📝.” But a Teacher 👩🏫 writes in the school paper 📰 that students should STAND UP to the bully! ✊💥 The Principal gets super mad 🤬 and asks the PE Coach 🏋️♂️ to tell the Teacher to zip it 🤐.
🌵 Real Life in Tucson:
That is exactly what just went down on a local radio show! 📻⚡️
It was the Pima County Top Lawyer 👩⚖️ (The Principal) 🆚 a Newspaper Writer ✍️ (The Teacher).
The Drama:
People are stressed 😰 because federal agents 👮♂️🚓 are coming to town, especially after a tragic shooting 🔫💀 in Minnesota caused protests 🪧📢 everywhere.
The Lawyer 👩⚖️ says: “Be peaceful! 🕊️ Record them with your phones 📱📹 from a safe distance!”
The Writer ✍️ says: “Nah! We need to RESIST! ✊🛑 Stand your ground!”
The Plot Twist 😱☕️:
The Lawyer actually admitted on air that she tried to get the Police Chief 👮♂️🚔 to tell the Writer to stop writing such bold articles! 🤫🚫
It was a super tense argument 😬💥 showing just how differently people think we should protect our community 🏘️🛡️.
🚨 “Tone Down Your Rhetoric”: County Attorney Publicly Pressures Columnist Over ICE Resistance
A tense on-air exchange reveals deep divisions over how Tucson should respond to federal immigration enforcement
The January 16th edition of the Buckmaster Show delivered more than the usual policy discussion when Pima County Attorney Laura Conover and Arizona Daily Star columnist Tim Steller engaged in a revealing public clash over community resistance to ICE operations.
Broadcasting from the Green Things Zócalo Village Studio in Central Tucson, host Bill Buckmaster facilitated what became a microcosm of the larger debate gripping borderlands communities: how to respond to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement without endangering community members.
Yes, Conover absolutely snapped at Steller—though “snapped” might undersell it. She publicly admitted to orchestrating pressure campaigns to get him to moderate his rhetoric.
When the County’s Top Prosecutor Calls You Out on Live Radio
The tension erupted when Steller challenged Conover’s framework of operating within the rule of law, questioning whether such norms even apply when federal agents claim “full immunity” and the administration orders prosecutors to investigate victims rather than officers who shoot people.
Conover’s response was sharp and direct:
“Well, of course it does. We’re America. We have a constitution, and we have to, we have to, in fact, stand for that if not, if not now, when, and we cannot fight fire with fire.”
But then came the moment that elevated this from policy disagreement to public confrontation. Conover looked directly at Steller and said:
“We’re only having this conversation, Tim, because you are a trusted voice in our community with a big online presence, and I need to persuade you to tone down your rhetoric, and you’re not going to take it from me. Lord knows, I’ve learned that, Tim, in my time with you.”
Translation: I’ve tried to get you to shut up before, you won’t listen to me, so now I’m calling you out publicly and enlisting others to pressure you.
And she didn’t stop there.
Conover revealed she had recently met with Tucson Police Chief Chad Kazmar, specifically “to see if he could persuade you” to moderate his stance on ICE resistance.
She was literally coordinating with law enforcement leadership to influence a journalist’s editorial position—and admitting it on air!
The Column That Started It All
The friction centered on Steller’s January 11 column calling for “blanket resistance” against ICE operations in Tucson.
Writing in the wake of ICE agent Jonathan Ross shooting and killing Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis—an incident captured on video that sparked protests across the country, including in Tucson—Steller argued that residents shouldn’t worry about distinguishing between different types of federal operations.
“What I was saying in the column on Sunday is that we should not consider... that when ICE shows up, if you feel this way, you should protest them and not worry about distinctions among types of operations,” Steller explained, adding that “their behavior in Minnesota and elsewhere justifies what I call blanket resistance.”
Conover immediately pushed back:
“Blanket resistance is a tough phrase. I think it needs to be peaceful for protest because if, because if, because you’re, you’re encouraging people not to care about distinguishing and I assure you that if you accidentally run into an undercover drug and gun bust, you ain’t going to want no part of that.”
As if community members opposing federal immigration terror should be worried about accidentally interfering with the War on Drugs. Priorities, Laura.
The Real Stakes: Keeping Communities Safe While Resisting
To be fair to Conover—and this is hard to write because her attempt to silence a journalist is deeply troubling—she articulated legitimate safety concerns rooted in her role as the county’s chief prosecutor.
Her brother still works with the Tucson Police Department, and she emphasized repeatedly:
“I’m literally just trying to keep everyone alive. It’s, it’s heavy. And I’m sorry it’s so heavy, but that’s my goal.”
Her message to community members: record potential ICE misconduct from a safe distance rather than confronting masked agents.
“If you think you’re observing illegal conduct on the part of a masked person... You are using your phone and recording from a safe distance, which produces and captures a piece of evidence of what you were seeing that could be quite useful and helpful later. And you still go home that night to your loved ones safe,” she explained.
Conover revealed she’s already coordinating with Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in Minneapolis, sharing litigation strategies from Pima County’s successful federal court case when ICE “stole a murder suspect from us” in the middle of the night. She’s preparing potential legal challenges if ICE operations hit Tucson or if Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.
The same day as the broadcast, Arizona Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly introduced the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act, legislation to establish clear use-of-force standards and accountability measures for ICE operations.
Conover cited this as evidence that “we’re trying to use the pen and not the sword.”
When “Calm, Cool, and Collected” Means Compliant
Throughout the interview, Conover repeated her mantra urging Tucson residents to stay “calm, cool and collected” as ICE enforcement potentially turns toward Arizona. She insisted:
“The concerns about what we are seeing on our TV, on our phones in other cities is completely righteous. I respect the level of stress and anxiety and fear that’s going on, but we must meet that by being collect and calm about it.”
But here’s the problem with that framework: it places the burden of de-escalation entirely on community members rather than on federal agents conducting what many view as terroristic raids. It suggests that if people get hurt, it’s because they didn’t stay calm enough—not because masked federal agents are operating with impunity.
Telling people to stay calm while their neighbors are being hunted is a choice. It’s a political choice dressed up as legal advice.
Steller attempted to clarify that his column advocated peaceful protest:
“I did, I did say that. And that’s, that’s a really, that’s important.”
But he also defended the broader concept of not requiring community members to parse the legal distinctions between a DEA operation, a U.S. Marshals action, and an ICE sweep when they see federal agents in their neighborhoods.
Buckmaster himself observed the confusion and distrust permeating the community, noting a viral rumor that ICE was holding a two-day conference at a Tucson hotel, which turned out to be an Arizona Department of Public Safety law enforcement event planned for months.
Steller specifically named the Graduate Hotel to help dispel the false information.
Beyond ICE: Other Critical Issues Discussed
The Roberto Del Angel Case: 16 Months and Still No Charges
A listener raised urgent concerns about Roberto Del Angel (also spelled Ruperto del Angel in some sources), a bicyclist from Amado, Arizona, who was rendered paralyzed after being struck by a vehicle 16 months ago. The driver allegedly admitted to striking Del Angel, leaving the scene, and smoking marijuana—yet no charges have been filed.
Conover explained the delay:
“Blood is taken in order to test for alcohol or drugs. And depending on which lab it’s sent to, there’s a very long wait often. And that’s resources, law enforcement resources.”
She added that analyzing voluminous medical records is critical for determining appropriate charges—whether a lower-level offense or a serious felony.
“In order to get it, we always say we have to get it right and not rush,” Conover said, acknowledging the extraordinary patience required from victims, families, and loved ones.
Sixteen months is not patience. Sixteen months is abandonment. Del Angel deserves better than bureaucratic delays dressed up as thoroughness.
Retail Theft: Don’t Be a Hero, There’s Video Everywhere
Steller raised a recent manslaughter case where a customer confronted a shoplifter at a Circle K near Oracle and Limberlost, and the shoplifter died in the altercation. Conover’s office secured a grand jury indictment for manslaughter against the customer.
Conover’s message to residents and employees:
“No one gets injured, everybody stays alive, you know, God help us, no one loses their life over a package of diapers or cigarettes or whatever it is.”
Modern surveillance systems capture everything in high-quality footage, allowing prosecutors to build organized retail theft cases—felonies when thieves repeatedly target stores across the county—without anyone risking their safety.
“These employees are following their orders to not engage, do not put your life at risk. It’s absolutely not worth it,” Conover emphasized.
Retailers share images and information through monthly coordination meetings, building comprehensive cases against repeat offenders.
Proposition 312: Tucson Bears the Brunt
Steller dropped a bombshell about Proposition 312, the 2024 voter-approved measure that allows property owners to seek tax reimbursements when cities or counties allegedly fail to enforce public nuisance laws against activities such as illegal camping, public drug use, or obstructing thoroughfares.
As of October 15, 2025, 24 complaints had been filed statewide under the new law. Fifteen of those 24—a staggering 62.5%—targeted the City of Tucson, despite Tucson having only 7% of Arizona’s population.
The City of Tucson has rejected all nine complaints it received, asserting the law is unconstitutional under Arizona’s constitution.
Pima County received just one complaint, which was also rejected.
The city’s rejection letters inform complainants that they can file a “special action” in Pima County Superior Court to contest the decision—essentially forcing residents to bear the financial burden of litigation.
Steller predicted the Goldwater Institute—a conservative/libertarian legal organization that pushed Proposition 312—would likely take up one of these cases to challenge Tucson in court.
“I’m sure they got the big bucks, and they got lawyers. I’m sure they’re chomping at the bit,” Steller noted.
Crime Stats: Progress Except Where It Matters Most
Conover shared genuinely encouraging news: violent crime in Pima County is down nearly 50% from pandemic peaks across almost every category—homicides, robberies, and other markers.
The devastating exception?
Domestic violence remains “persistent, unacceptable, frustrating,” and is getting increased attention from the County Attorney’s Office and victim services.
The Southwestern Flavor: Gardening, Dillinger, and Desert Life
True to Tucson radio tradition, the show mixed heavy policy discussions with delightfully local tangents. Buckmaster and Steller bonded over a podcast they recorded at Green Things nursery on Tucson’s 13-acre horticultural paradise, where Steller has been consulting master gardener Deb North about his “troubled citrus trees”.
They discussed the need to aggressively prune roses in January—counterintuitive advice that apparently applies to both plants and political rhetoric, though only one of them took the hint.
The show aired on Dillinger Days weekend, the annual celebration at Hotel Congress commemorating the 1934 capture of gangster John Dillinger by Tucson police after a fire at the historic hotel exposed the outlaw’s hiding spot.
Because nothing says “Tucson values” quite like celebrating when local cops succeeded where the FBI failed—a theme that resonates differently in 2026 when community members are being asked to trust federal law enforcement operating with minimal oversight.
What Do You Think?
The Conover-Steller exchange reveals the impossible position borderlands communities face as Trump’s second term ramps up immigration enforcement. Do we trust prosecutors and police chiefs to protect us through legal channels and evidence-gathering, or do we recognize that “the rule of law” has been weaponized against our communities for generations?
Conover is right that getting people killed helps no one.
But Steller is right that Minneapolis showed us exactly who federal agents are when the cameras are rolling—and who they’ll be in Tucson when ICE operations inevitably arrive.
The question isn’t whether to resist. The question is how to resist effectively while keeping each other alive.
Support independent borderlands journalism. Subscribe to Three Sonorans to ensure stories like this—the ones that reveal power dynamics even within our own resistance movements—continue to be told.
Discussion Questions:
Should journalists moderate their editorial positions when prosecutors or police request it, even in the name of public safety?
Is “calm, cool, and collected” a realistic or fair expectation for communities facing what many view as federal terror campaigns?
How do we balance legitimate safety concerns with the moral imperative to resist injustice in real-time?
Have a scoop or a story you want us to follow up on? Send us a message below or via email (all messages kept confidential) at ThreeSonorans@gmail.com.
Difficult, for sure. The word that keeps spinning through my brain these days is dilemma. I thought I knew so much when I was younger; things appeared to be more black and white. Now, with the world shaded in gray, all I can say is the older I get the less I know…
Do we only have freedom of speech if it’s “calm and collected”? Seems like Conover is telling us to obey in advance by not protesting and “filming from a distance”. This will not work. This is a fascist regime. Ask Europe.