Former Graham County sheriff Richard Mack believes Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a ’destructive force’ which the US constitution cannot afford.
“So first of all, we’re not a democracy. We never have been,” said Mack. “The sheriff is the top executor of the law. He can defend the people from the abuse and the oppression and the bullying of the federal government.”Mack rose to prominence after a Supreme Court victory that weakened Clinton-era gun controls in the 1990s. He founded the CSPOA in 2011 and now spends most of his time criss-crossing the country spreading his ideology to law enforcement via seminars and rallies.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in government, it doesn’t matter if you’re a street criminal. Violate the law, you will be investigated and we will correct you.”
Law enforcement gone rogue
There’s no shortage of think tanks and research institutes lining up to knock the constitutional sheriffs off their perch, arguing that only the courts have the authority to decide what’s constitutional or unconstitutional.Among the loudest voices has been the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC), which has been monitoring the constitutional sheriffs since 2009 in an effort to expose what they allege has been their troubling role in American life, law enforcement and, now, national politics.
“What we have unfortunately is a situation of people with great authority, with weapons, people whom citizens have to follow, who unfortunately seem to be going rogue,” said SLPC extremism expert Rachel Goldwasser.
“I would say being a constitutional sheriff makes them far-right extremists. They do not have this authority that they have granted themselves.”The SPLC also alleges the group has ties to a variety of domestic extremists – though Mack and others affiliated with the CSPOA strongly assert they are not racist or affiliated with the white supremacist movement.Goldwasser added: “This includes everybody from supremacists, neo-Confederates, as well as self-identified conspiracy theorists, sovereign citizens who refuse to follow the law and really everything in between.
“And if more sheriffs get into this, then what we’re going to see is a breakdown in the rule of law, and we’re going to see sheriffs that are at least tacitly interested in the breakdown of democracy as well.”
Pima County encompasses the city of Tuscon, Arizona in America’s south. Credit: Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty
‘No place for hate’
Sandwiched between Maricopa County and the border with Mexico lies Pima County, where there’s another Arizona lawman who has a very different idea of what a sheriff should be.Chris Nanos is the incumbent sheriff here and also in the midst of a primary election battle like Sheridan – but for the Democratic nomination. Nanos must first face off against a rival from his own party to win a spot on the Democratic ticket for the November general election.”I have a challenge here now, I have some opponents who have come out and said they are with constitutional sheriffs,” Nanos said.”What I really think is dangerous is that you have people who run for this job, who run for this office with the belief that they are going to be all powerful. That they have no rules that apply to them. That they set the rules. And that is hogwash.
“I have my political beliefs about abortion or the border or migration, but I can’t let that dictate my role as a police officer in the community. My standing is simply this, I got to keep you safe.”
Democrat sheriff Chris Nanos is being challenged for his position by candidates who identify as ‘constitutional sheriffs.’
Nanos says that while some candidates for sheriff may be voicing far-right ideology for political gain, he believes that rhetoric is never harmless.
“The hate speech, the hate-mongering, the promotion of hatred over this group, that group, migrants, LGBTQ. There’s no place in this country for hate,” he said. “Justice is blind for a reason. What they’re doing is they’re taking that blindfold off.”
Goldwasser says America faces an uncertain future if constitutional sheriff ideology continues to grow within the ranks of law enforcement.”I hear the far right constantly talking about freedom and liberty, but what I see them actually doing, and this includes militias, this includes constitutional sheriffs, is trying to tear our democracy apart and create what essentially could be an authoritarian government,” she said.
“I am very worried. I’m worried as an expert that looks at these groups and worried as a citizen of this country, I’m worried as a parent that we are moving into a direction where this country that I love so much may not look the same moving forward.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 09:31:00
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