New Times executives Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin were arrested at their homes in Phoenix, last night. They were charged with revealing grand jury secrets, after writing a story that told readers:

In a breathtaking abuse of the United States Constitution, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and their increasingly unhinged cat’s paw, special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik, used the grand jury to subpoena “all documents related to articles and other content published by Phoenix New Times newspaper in print and on the Phoenix New Times website, regarding Sheriff Joe Arpaio from January 1, 2004 to the present.”

Every note, tape, and record from every story written about Sheriff Arpaio by every reporter over a period of years.

All readers’ information from 2004 until the present from the website was also subpoena’ed.

David Carr in the NY Times writes:

Steve Suskin, legal counsel for Village Voice Media, said that the arrests on misdemeanor charges of the newspaper executives represent an escalation in the conflict between The Phoenix New Times and Sheriff Arpaio, who has received national attention for his reputation for running tough jails.

Los Angeles sure is dull. When’s the last time anyone at the LA Times got so much as a parking ticket?