The power of sheriffs does not outrank the feds or the state, but in practice, theres often little to be done about a sheriff who refuses to enforce laws. Bob Barr represented Georgia's Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. 322. We cannot have individual law enforcement officers arbitrarily decide what laws to enforce., In addition to defiance over coronavirus laws, Songer, along with constitutional sheriff Mark Lamb of Pinal County, Arizona, formed their own sheriffs posses. After searching in vain for any legal basis for sheriff supremacy and checking with several others who have studied law enforcement and civilian oversight, I can confirm that a constitutional sheriff with unique autonomy is not actually a thing. Given that Mack has called the federal government the greatest threat we face today, it is no surprise that constitutional sheriffs have expressed support for the Jan. 6 insurgents. Richard Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and a former board member of the Oath Keepers, speaks at a 2020 event in Nevada alongside several sheriffs. Mack is a former Graham County, Arizona, sheriff and a former Oath Keepers board member. knowledge, within their respective jurisdictions. Klickitat County Sheriff, Bob Songer, Republic police chief Loren Culp, and Ferry County Sheriff Ray Maycumber are among those who have publicly vowed not to enforce the new unconstitutional gun laws. And the actions he took in recent years are similar to Songers: Burnett said he wouldnt be investigating crimes related to Washingtons new gun laws and he announced he wouldnt enforce COVID-19 masking rules and other mandates. InvestigateWest (invw.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Constitutional sheriff Dar Leaf of Barry County, Michigan, openly defied his governors stay-at-home orders as did constitutional sheriff Mike Carpinelli of Lewis County, New York. This movement picked up exponentially after the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018, along with the sheriffs involvement. Gales views, some parroted by Beach, grew in popularity among white supremacists, tax protesters and aggrieved citizens, such as farmers in the Midwest who faced significant financial crisis in the 1980s. Instead, hed rather educate the public about what he calls the far-right agenda and hope voters make the right decision. In 2019, they awarded Songer the Washington State Constitutional Sheriff of the Year Award. And that's why Sheriff Mack is so important to this tour." . HE IS ONE OF THE Peers of WE THE PEOPLE! At some point if you end up with a corrupt government, if somebody is doing something that you believe is not constitutional, thats where the sheriff has not just the right, but a duty to intervene and uphold those laws, Burnett said in an interview. Around the same time, county officials began passing Second Amendment sanctuary legislation, most of which affirmed that additional state and federal gun control laws would not be enforced by the county. The far-right ideology promoted by Mack and Songer is expressed by a disturbingly large number of sheriffs, said Devin Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a Seattle-based nonprofit thats studied the movement. In defense to a petition for removal the sheriff insisted he was under no duty to do detective services to discover violations of law. For example, as Congress worked toward federal police reform legislation this year, Democratic negotiators made substantial compromises to get major organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, on board. (by CSPOA on Dec 17, 2014) The New American reports: "Local media in Olympia, Washington, covered Gavin Seim's "We Will. Op. Franklin County sheriff candidate Chris Turner, for example, said he believes the elected sheriff has greater authority than the federal or state government. The defiance of the sheriffs is an act of interposition and a demonstration of the lesser magistrate doctrine. And executive officials are obligated to enforce those laws unless and until they are repealed or a court . I dont think the Constitution gives sheriffs a greater degree of authority over state or federal officials.. Mack went on a speaking junket in 2021, promoting the organization at a series of events alongside a long list of extremists. Since then, the so-called "constitutional sheriff" movement has grown in Washington. And with . Bhattacharyya, too, has mixed feelings about appointed sheriffs. She/he is elected to safeguard the rights of the people and exercise the powers that the public has entrusted to him or her. Washington: DC: Monday . There are but few cases concerning the extent to which there is a duty on the part of the sheriff to investigate criminal charges under common law. federal lawmakers on criminal justice issues. "The bottom line is that we have Constitutional duties with our oath of office," Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers told bodies in performance of their duties. The oath that sheriffs take is not unique. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, meanwhile, wrote a letter that said a county could be held liable if a sheriff, for example, failed to perform a background check for a gun that landed in the hands of a dangerous individual. That year, Mack shared their strategy with Fox News: We were actually strategizing to put all the women and children up front. Constitutionalist sheriffs in charge: Constitutionalist sheriffs believe that the Constitution appoints sheriffs as the ultimate law enforcement authority, even above the federal government.The . Bhattacharyya said the worst case scenario would be if these sheriffs are emboldened to meddle with the elections process. Take the example of Virginia, where in 2020 the state legislature passed a law allowing local governments to establish civilian oversight of police departments. In May, the group listed Songer as a sheriff committed to investigating election fraud and quoted Songer saying he was convinced there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election after seeing the widely debunked film 2000 Mules. By subscribing, you agree to receive occasional membership emails from Crosscut/Cascade Public Media. (Scott said reform talks had collapsed because Democrats supported defunding the police, but the FOP and International Association of Chiefs of Police publicly disputed that characterization.) Throughout 2021, CSPOA held seminars and trainings meant to radicalize the sheriffs into believing they have ultimate U.S. law enforcement authority and are, as CSPOA presents it to them through online and in-person presentations, Americas last hope.. Association. shall be the duty of all sheriffs to make complaint of all Because theres not a great way to hold them accountable, other than by not electing them.. 80 of the 102 counties have now declared their defiance of the so-called "assault weapons ban" in Illinois. He was a major funder of former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's political career and other religious-right efforts. King County recently made the sheriff an appointed position instead of an elected one. One constitutional sheriff in Nevada went viral in 2019 for comparing gun control to Nazi Germany. Thousands violate unconstitutional Washington state gun law. 3060 Willamette Drive, NE #200. "The law enforcement powers held by the sheriff supersede those of any agent, officer, elected official or employee from any level of government when in the jurisdiction of the county," it says. In a May 2020 interview posted to YouTube, Mack described this view, saying: Let me make this real clear: The President of the United States cannot tell your sheriff what to do. Franklin County sheriff candidate Chris Turner, for example, said he believes the elected sheriff has greater authority than the federal or state government. Its not just worrisome because they may decide not to enforce laws they disagree with. Nowhere does there appear any specific mandate to the sheriff to investigate criminal charges. Tags:Law Enforcement, Politics, Election 2022. within the Constitution of the State of Washington. As Mack tells it, he said the federal Government could not tell him what to do; that they were not his boss.. Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer is a member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a far-right, anti-government group that wrongly . Out of 39 counties in Washington, 17 current sheriffs endorsed Songer. Constitutional sheriffs and the CSPOA were involved in many of these efforts, using gun control to further their own agendas of radicalization and recruitment. First elected in 2016, Williams is part of the growing "constitutional sheriff" movement, which claims that sheriffs have the power to override federal and state authority on matters from . uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of Washington, At some point if you end up with a corrupt government, if somebody is doing something that you believe is not constitutional, thats where the sheriff has not just the right, but a duty to intervene and uphold those laws, Burnett said in an interview. Thats part of my oath, Gese said. Of those who responded, several expressed their belief that their power was greater than federal or state authority, even if they sometimes found Mack extreme. General duties. The County Sheriff has the authority to ban the admission of any government or corporate persons that would enter our county with the intent to rob you of any of your God given or Constitutionally guaranteed rights or freedom. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Yet there is an urgent need to address how sheriffs are increasingly undermining law enforcement accountability and distorting public policy more broadly. Contending that this authority supersedes that of all other government officials including state governors and the president they refuse to enforce a range of public safety laws, from local mask mandates to state and federal gun laws. Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week. professionalism, leadership development, When the group of Washington sheriffs defied the state gun laws in 2019, Gov. And with the Election Day just around the corner, candidates for sheriff in Washington are increasingly touting their constitutional sheriff credentials, with many believing that they have the ultimate authority to decide what is constitutional and to enforce the law accordingly. The spread of the "constitutional sheriffs" movementwhich claims that local county sheriffs are the supreme law of the land, capable of overruling federal and state laws, as well as prohibiting federal and state agencies from enforcing themthroughout rural American sheriff's offices has often seemed like a quaint but localized problem: Sure, having set themselves up as laws unto . Counties experiencing rampant disinformation, including conspiracy theories that villainize the government, may be supportive of sheriffs who proclaim that they will not enforce laws they personally interpret as the product of a tyrannical government. Whereas Supreme Court justices are often fervent legal scholars, the Montgomery County, Texas, sheriffs office, which held a constitutional sheriff event in February 2021, requires their sheriff to be: There is no requirement that a sheriff reads or understands the Constitution. Illinois sheriffs who are refusing to enforce the state's new gun-control law are engaged in "political grandstanding" and are endangering the lives of residents, Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker's office said on Monday.. Last week, Pritzker signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which prohibits the possession of semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15 and paves the way for . By endorsing the idea that sheriffs can choose which U.S. laws are legitimate, constitutional sheriffs are conferring a job assigned to the Supreme Court by the nations founders onto themselves. Other sheriffs, however, took a strong stance against the idea that sheriffs have unilateral authority when reached by InvestigateWest. Article 11, 5 of the Washington State Constitution denotes "The sheriff" is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. Noah Oppenheim stepping aside as president of NBC News, including state governors and the president, refuse to enforce a range of public safety laws, anti-government, militia-supporting Oath Keepers, Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, longtime board member of the Oath Keepers, official training events, led by Mack, to teach, Virginia Sheriffs Association assertions, have also played a role in undermining police accountability, our democracy from extremists within law enforcement, electoral process has not been effective at holding sheriffs accountable. Still, mainstream is a relative term: Thirteen sheriffs in Scotts 46-county home state have been convicted of criminal charges in the past 11 years, and one of the National Sheriffs Associations new executive members, Chris West of Oklahoma, was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is an anti-government extremist group whose primary purpose is to recruit sheriffs into the anti-government "patriot" movement. Duly enacted laws are presumed to be constitutional. All of them, including the sheriffs and militias, seemed to be associating with and friendly with each other, according to a person at the scene. At least 20 county sheriffs in Washington state . In Washington, a sheriff can be removed through a recall process just like any other elected politician, but recall efforts are typically unsuccessful. When asked why he believes he has authority to enforce laws based on his own reading of the Constitution, Songer points to his oath of office to uphold the U.S. and state constitutions. But the Republican lead on the bill, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), refused to agree to anything that didnt have the support of the National Sheriffs Association, the largest sheriffs association in the country. His beliefs were disseminated far and wide. But legislators caved to Virginia Sheriffs Association assertions that the new oversight could not apply to sheriffs because sheriffs are elected constitutional officers.. Like many so-called "constitutional" sheriffs, Bob Songer defiantly rules Washington State's rural Klickitat County like a personal fiefdom, deferring to no other governing . "As an elected sheriff and a constitutional sheriff, I believe it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution," he says, "and, more specifically, violates the Washington state . Also in the group is Sheriff Tom Hodgson of Bristol County, Massachusetts, who joined CSPOA in 2014 and had his ICE agreement terminated on May 20, 2021 for alleged mistreatment of detainees at the immigrant detention center managed by Hodgson. Mark Lamb, the 49-year-old sheriff of Pinal County, Ariz. who years ago signed Mack's association's pledge to be a constitutional sheriff created a nonprofit coalition of sheriffs this . Be a part of it! By: Robert DavisSheriffs in Washington State are caught in a catch-22 between the state's sweeping gun control rules, Initiative 1639, and waiting until the courts decide whether or not the provisions contained therein are Constitutional. Because sheriffs have the power to detain people, they often play a role in immigration enforcement. 2023 Cascade Public Media. / November 7, 2022. Mack compared sheriffs who refused to enforce the stay-at-home orders to civil rights activist Rosa Parks and claimed a sheriff who refused to enforce his own states executive order was standing against Nazi tactics. Others who took this step were spurred on and recruited by antigovernment extremists who spent 2021 exploiting the pandemic for their own ideological purposes, most notably the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). Washington State Sheriffs' Association. Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese also rejected Macks ideology. Recent events have shown that local and federal politicians are eager to . The job of this specific sheriff is to protect your personal rights against all foreign and domestic threats. 1, 2014, Mack told Lou Dobbs, this really is a badge vs. the badge situation, and I believe that the biggest badge in the country is the county sheriff., CSPOA claims this is because county sheriffs are the only elected law enforcement officers and therefore only accountable to their constituents, no higher government power. The protection of these rights come under the jurisdiction of the county Constitutional Sheriff. Foxs 5 p.m. chat fest is the new king of cable news. Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer has in recent years embodied the Constitutional Sheriff movement. violations of the criminal law, which shall come to their As gun laws throughout the west have gradually . Since then, the so-called constitutional sheriff movement has grown in Washington. The far-right ideology promoted by Mack and Songer is expressed by a disturbingly large number of sheriffs, said Devin Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a Seattle-based nonprofit thats studied the movement. They were also pivotal to the formation of the modern constitutional sheriff, militia and sovereign citizen movements, all of whom distrust or detest the government. A new national constitutional sheriffs group also emerged in 2021. The Sheriffs of Washington are elected and are constitutional officers within the Constitution of the State of Washington. The concept of the constitutional sheriff is a subset of the larger antigovernment movement. That's not a "movement" as Ms. Donnelly suggests - that's a fact of the position. In May, the group listed Songer as a sheriff committed to investigating election fraud and quoted Songer saying he was convinced there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election after seeing the widely debunked film 2000 Mules.. Wildlife. Many of them have equated government-enacted health guidelines regarding masks and vaccines with tyranny. But a Spokane civil rights attorney is concerned the letter suggests sheriffs have powers beyond their roles as local law enforcers. This . 1125 Washington St SE PO Box 40100 Olympia, WA 98504 (360) 753-6200 Thirteen sheriffs, however, went a step beyond merely expressing their displeasure. These sheriffs base this claim to power on their oath to uphold the Constitution. This beloved show is back with more tales from James Herriott and the delightful Yorkshire Dales. But while constitutional sheriffs often use this argument, it doesnt hold up to scrutiny, said Bhattacharyy, who has held leadership positions with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury. The oath that sheriffs take is not unique. Those without horses are auxiliary, according to Songer. The Constitutional Law group run by a non-attorney sovereign citizen who spent time during the pandemic offering his services as an attorney to businesses defying COVID-19 health guidelines listed CSPOA as a sponsor on their website and claimed to be working closely with CSPOA. All Rights Reserved. Ex-Sheriff Arpaio was found in contempt of court in 2017 after refusing to follow a federal judge's order to stop profiling and detaining Latinx people during traffic stops and immigration raids. The AGs office did not return a message seeking comment for this article. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, or CSPOA, spells out this tenet on its website. That many sheriffs believe they have that power concerns people like Rupa Bhattacharyya, special litigation counsel for the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection within Georgetown University Law Center. The constitutional sheriff movement has its roots in the Posse Comitatus ("power of the county") movement of the 1970s and '80s. Recent events have shown that local and federal politicians are eager to impose authoritarian measures in the name of "the common good." Enter Your Email Address To Get Exclusive Updates Directly From Sheriff Mack! Sheriffs in a dozen Washington counties say they won't enforce the state's sweeping new restrictions on semi-automatic rifles until the courts decide whether they are constitutional. Richard Mack has built a "Constitutional sheriff" movement to resist state and federal authority on guns, COVID-19 and now election results. People ask me all the time, Do you believe in enforcing the Constitution? Yes, absolutely. Washington state recently introduced bills for some of the strictest gun laws in the country but they have some very important opponents: the sheriffs. The origins of constitutional sheriff ideology are in the two concepts of the county supremacy movement: the county and not the state or federal governments should control all land within its borders, and the county sheriff is the ultimate law enforcement authority in the U.S. CONTACT US. More recently, Mack and the association have been focused on resisting COVID mandates and encouraging sheriffs to investigate unfounded conspiracies about the 2020 election. the 39 Sheriffs joined together in 1984 to form this The Sheriffs of Washington are elected and are constitutional officers 225 (1916). it has always been accorded with great dignity and high trust" About a dozen or more sheriffs, mostly in rural counties, refused to enforce the restrictions against the people, citing that the provisions violated both the federal and state . First elected in 2016, Williams is part of the growing "constitutional sheriff" movement, which claims that sheriffs have the power to override federal and state authority on matters from border . Bhattacharyya said the worst-case scenario would be if these sheriffs are emboldened to meddle with the elections process. She says the name of the sheriff's group is designed . The primary purpose of this Sheriff is to protect, https://sheriffconstitutional.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tuesday-story-recording.mp3, Constitutional Sheriffs Article 11, 5 of Washington State, If the local government of this county attempts to rob or violate your constitutional rights. the provisions of particular statutes; (5) Shall attend the sessions of the courts of record held within the county, and obey their lawful orders or directions; (6) Shall keep and preserve the peace in their respective counties, and quiet and suppress all affrays, riots, unlawful assemblies and insurrections, for which purpose, and for the service of process in civil or criminal cases, and in apprehending or securing any person for felony or breach of the peace, they may call to their aid such persons, or power of their county as they may deem necessary. State v. McCarty, 104 Kans. . However, where the office of sheriff is named in the constitution, his duties are the same as they were at the time the constitution was adopted. They Just Proposed an Extreme Ban. Its not just worrisome because they may decide not to enforce laws they disagree with. . Distinct from Sheriffs, the Militia are explicitly incorporated within the Constitution of the United States. The sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. Visit invw.org/newsletters to sign up for weekly updates. On the other hand, Burnett is one of the 17 sheriffs to endorse Songer this election cycle. About 10,000 citizens have also joined. In a recent webinar with Mack, Songer said that the association naming him the Constitutional Sheriff of the Year was an eye-opener regarding his duties as sheriff. The quote by Sheriff Jones about "the popular vote" is a reference to the fact that last November, the people of Washington voted to pass Initiative 1639 (I-1639). Leaf, who has been openly friendly to militia in the past and questioned whether the men charged with kidnapping Gov. A statute sheriff is a servant to the Deep State and is in betrayal of their Constitutional oath. This office has not rendered any prior opinions on this matter. My No. Schneider. These assertions are often accepted by lawmakers without challenge thus moving anti-government and racist ideas from the fringe to the policymaking mainstream. To people like Michael German, a former FBI special agent who embedded with militias and is . Constitutional sheriffs resurfaced as a political group around 2014 in the wake of the Tea Party and gained more support as the alt-right rose to prominence with the election of Donald Trump. To preserve and protect the office of Sheriff. I think its a decision that communities have to make on their own, she said. It is estimated that movement has about 10,000 supporters, including 3,000 sheriffs. [6] And the Constitution devotes more words to setting out Congress's and the States' powers with respect to the Militia than it does to setting out Congress's powers with respect to the Army and the Navy, thereby attesting to the . The job of this specific sheriff is to protect your personal rights against all foreign and domestic threats. "As an elected sheriff and a constitutional sheriff, I believe it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution," he says, "and, more specifically, violates the Washington state . Sheriffs who refuse to enforce duly enacted state laws are violating their oaths, shirking their duties, trampling on the democratic process, and contravening the separation of powers. One county law, titled the Newton County Missouri Second Amendment Preservation Act was enacted in Newton County, on Feb. 3, 2021. 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