"I shot the sheriff" --- Bob Marley (then, later Eric Clapton)
*The Balad of Gregorio Cortez* movie: It's a mare. Es una yegua buey!!

In many places - not in all states, but in many states - sheriffs can hire and fire at will. So it's not uncommon to hire relatives. It's a fairly common practice. And that allows them to set policy on all sorts of things. So everything from what people wear in jail - there was a sheriff in Georgia who forced people inside his jail to get up every morning and march around and sing a song about how great the sheriff was.
...
... this tradition persists today, which is why sheriffs among law enforcement officers still have a lot of pay-for-service mechanisms. In many places, for example, landlords pay the sheriff to evict tenants. It's just a flat fee. So among also those things was that they would take people and lease them out to white land owners. They didn't just lease them out for farming. They were sent to mines, to poultry processing plants. In Florida, they were sent to collect tar in the Everglades. And I think it can't be understated just how dangerous and violent convict leasing was.

- npr.org/2024/09/10/g-s1-21802/…

#JessicaPishko #ConstitutionalSheriffs #uspol #USASheriffs

Jessica, let's talk a little about immigration for a moment because county sheriffs, as you write, have become almost like avatars for the anti-immigration movement. How did they become the law enforcement agency involved in immigration?


PISHKO: It was something that really began to happen when the United States decided that it would interlock the immigration system with the criminal legal system. So that's - some people call it the crimmigration system, which is not a term that I coined. It's something that immigration law experts coined. But when Congress passed a certain series of laws in the 1980s and '90s, what they wanted to do was create a system in which people who were accused of crimes, particularly at the time drug crimes, would be able to be immediately deported, in a way that was basically faster. So they didn't have to be convicted.
...
PISHKO: That's also the benefit for them. The federal government houses about 25% of immigrants in detention in county jails right now. And they pay these sheriffs per diem. So they get paid sort of per day to keep people in their jails. And it's one of the ways that sheriffs are able to use that jail, kind of as a political tool - right? - to make money for their county.
...
... using this anti-immigrant group, the Trump administration recruited more sheriffs to join a program called 287(g). And 287(g) is a federal program that essentially deputizes sheriffs and their deputies to act as immigration agents. So under Trump, many, many more sheriffs joined this 287(g) program. Now, the 287(g) program is a bit interesting because it doesn't include any funding for the sheriffs, but it is something that sheriffs used to say that they were tough on immigration.


MOSLEY: Trump sees sheriffs as his allies. But we should note that even after he left office, the Biden administration has also poured money into immigration enforcement at the border, at the Mexican border, more money than even before, and which translates really into big bucks for these sheriff's departments.


Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is in Pinal County, which is actually not on the border. But he is a person who receives quite a lot of money from the Department of Homeland Security under a program called Operation Stonegarden.
Operation Stonegarden is a bit of an unusual program because it funds local law enforcement to conduct sort of border policing. It's given also to sheriffs on the U.S.-Canada border, as well as the U.S.-Mexico border. And there have been previous reports that the DHS does not track where this money goes. So there's sort of a pre-existing problem in which they fail to track the money, see where the money is actually going and then monitor the effectiveness of the funding. So there's no reason here to think that putting more money into Operation Stonegarden in some way has a positive impact or any impact at all.
But Mark Lamb - I found that even though he did receive money under the Trump administration, that under the Biden administration, it had more than doubled. So he received money to purchase things like helicopters..
...
PISHKO: Some of them are buying snowmobiles to, you know, drive through the snow. Stonegarden money was used to buy, like, snow suits. So that's one common use in the North. In the South, it's a lot of ATVs, helicopters. Overtime is another big one. And again, what's very interesting is that the federal government doesn't really track how this money gets used.
There's not very good information about, you know, exactly where these dollars go. Like, are they going to weaponry or vehicles or overtime or additional staff? They seem to be able to go to all of it, but it's something that the federal government hasn't really decided to look into.
..
PISHKO: They wanted to take control of law enforcement in their county, and the idea was that if they elected a Black sheriff, that sheriff would protect them from forces like the Klan. Very logical thing to do. Now, it turned out that white people did not like that at all. And there's a quote that I found from someone saying that they would rather see a Black person elected to any other office than sheriff. And I think that points to how the sheriff was seen as the local figure who maintained the racial segregation.
...
... this tradition persists today, which is why sheriffs among law enforcement officers still have a lot of pay-for-service mechanisms. In many places, for example, landlords pay the sheriff to evict tenants. It's just a flat fee. So among also those things was that they would take people and lease them out to white land owners. They didn't just lease them out for farming. They were sent to mines, to poultry processing plants. In Florida, they were sent to collect tar in the Everglades. And I think it can't be understated just how dangerous and violent convict leasing was.

• https://www.npr.org/2024/09/10/g-s1-21802/constitutional-sheriffs-wield-unchecked-power-across-america-journalist-says
  #JessicaPishko #ConstitutionalSheriffs #OperationStonegarden

They are embraced by far-right militia groups, white nationalists, the Claremont Institute, and former president Donald Trump, who sees them as allies in mass deportation and border policing.

How did a group of law enforcement officers decide that they were “above the law?” What are the stakes for local and national politics, and for America as a multi-racial democracy?

Blending investigative reporting, historical research, and political analysis, author Jessica Pishko takes us to the roots of why sheriffs have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment, and uncovers how sheriffs have effectively evaded accountability since the nation’s founding.

- penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7…
#JessicaPishko #ConstitutionalSheriffs #spol

/HT @persagen

Far-Right Sheriffs Want to Carry Out Donald Trump's Mass Deportations. That’s Not Possible

https://www.wired.com/story/far-right-sheriffs-donald-trump-mass-deportations-constitutional/

#CSPOA #ConstitutionalSheriffs #News #Trump #Extremism

#ACAB #ConstitutionalSheriffs

"This wasn’t an average get-together. Leaf and Mack were at a conference for the far-right Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, or CSPOA, a group described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-government organization with links to many other extremist groups. Constitutional sheriffs are actual elected sheriffs who also believe they are the ultimate legal power in their county, and that no federal or state authority can usurp their authority. They also believe that a sheriff’s power stems directly from the constitution, and that they can disregard any laws they deem unconstitutional—a belief that is not grounded in reality."

https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-disrupt-election/

Meet the Far-Right #Constitutional #Sheriffs Ready to Assert Control if #Trump Loses

There are hundreds of #ConstitutionalSheriffs around the country who believe they are the ultimate legal power in their county. We break down how they have coalesced with the election denial movement.
#ElectionDenial #election #election2024 #djt #donaldtrump #maga

https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-election-denial/

'Take Back the States': The Far-Right #Sheriffs Ready to Disrupt the #Election

#ConstitutionalSheriffs are duly elected lawmen who believe they answer only to god. They've spent the last six months preparing to stop a "stolen" election—by any means necessary.
#election2024 #farright

https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-disrupt-election/

#2024PresidentialElection #ConstitutionalSheriffs #extremism
For years, [constitutional sheriffs] who believe they have unlimited power to interpret and enforce the laws of the land have operated on the fringes."

‘Take Back the States’: The Far-Right Sheriffs Ready to Disrupt the Election

"Constitutional Sheriffs are duly elected lawmen who believe they answer only to God. They’ve spent the last six months preparing to stop a 'stolen' election—by any means necessary."
https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-disrupt-election/

We can't have voter intimidation at polling places. Aren't these the "free speech" people? Why are they targeting people for their yard signs?

MAGA Sheriff’s Post About Kamala Harris Yard Signs Gets Department Booted From Election Duties
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-sheriffs-post-about-kamala-harris-yard-signs-gets-department-booted-from-election-duties
#voterintimidation #sheriffs #ConstitutionalSheriffs #maga #freespeech #fascism #electionsecurity

Constitutional sheriffs wield unchecked power across America
Jessica Pishko says a group of sheriffs have become a flashpoint in current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, rural resentment

* Jessica Pishko (book): The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707263/the-highest-law-in-the-land-by-jessica-pishko

#JessicaPishko #ConstitutionalSheriffs #sheriffs #authoritarianism #policing #ToxicMasculinity #WhiteSupremacy #GOP #Trumpism #MAGA

Listening to Refuse Fascism (Constitutional Sheriffs, Militias, and Other Local Fascist Initiatives): https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/refuse-fascism/episodes/Constitutional-Sheriffs--Militias--and-Other-Local-Fascist-Initiatives-e2imivh

Sam talks with three experts on widespread local fascist organizing around the country including the so-called Constitutional Sheriffs movement, the embrace by local governments of right wing militias and fascist efforts to modify the constitution itself. Devin Burghart (@dburghart) is the Executive Director, at the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights. Carolyn Gallaher is a professor at American University. She has written about rightwing paramilitaries in the U.S. and Northern Ireland. Read more from her here. Follow her on Twitter at @C_OGallachoir or at Bluesky at @cgallaher.bsky.social. CJ Spencer (@ByCJSpencer) wrote How the Far Right-Wing Plans to Obliterate More of Our Constitutional Rights. Read more from them here. Upcoming Event!Join us for our next Patron-only Virtual Event:Sunday April 28, 5PM ET Book Club Chat discussing Prophet Song by Paul Lynch Register for Zoom at ⁠http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism (see pinned post)*Not a patron? Fix that here: ⁠http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. We're still on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@RefuseFascism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and other social platforms including Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@samgoldmanrf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also send  your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SamBGoldman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Record ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a voice message for the show here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the movement at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠RefuseFascism.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and support: · ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/refusefascism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ · ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donate.refusefascism.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ · http://patreon.com/RefuseFascism · Venmo: Refuse-Fascism · Cashapp: $RefuseFascism Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mentioned in this Episode: Inside the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University by Lara-Nour Walton (The Nation) January 6 insurrectionists had a great day in the Supreme Court today (Most of the justices seem to want to make it harder to prosecute January 6 rioters.) by Ian Millhiser (Vox) The Supreme Court’s confusing new anti-trans decision, explained (The Court mostly reinstates Idaho’s ban on transgender health care for children.) by Ian Millhiser (Vox) The Supreme Court effectively abolishes the right to mass protest in three US states (It is no longer safe to organize a protest in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas.) by Ian Millhiser (Vox) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/refuse-fascism/message

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/refuse-fascism/episodes/Constitutional-Sheriffs--Militias--and-Other-Local-Fascist-Initiatives-e2imivh #refusefascism #maga #ConstitutionalSheriffs #militias #Sheriffs #rightwingExtremists #antifascism #StopFascism

Far-Right #Sheriffs Want a #CitizenArmy to Stop 'Illegal Immigrant' #Voters

Speakers at a conference for #ConstitutionalSheriffs claimed that #militias need to patrol polling stations to stop the "expected flood" of #immigrant voters.
#rights #farright #election

https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-election-deniers-immigrants-voting/

Joseph Michael Arpaio is the former #Republican #sheriff of Maricopa County, #Arizona, who seemed to have forgotten that the sheriff's office is an agency for upholding the law, rather than a vehicle for promoting his own personal brand of hate. Few people can even name the candidates that ran against Arpaio; his "brand" recognition was astronomical. Each time his name got in the news for some new malfeasance, he won new voters; it didn't matter whether it cost the taxpayers millions. He set a new benchmark for "teflon" and could only keep dodging the fallout for so long, though; his 24-year reign of terror was broken in November 2016, when he was voted out of office. The former sheriff was pardoned by #tRump on August 25, 2017. So much for being "tough on crime". He has been a supporter or member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association since at least 2013.

#RationalWiki #JoeArpaio #ConstitutionalSheriffs
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio

He #Parties With #NeoConfederates, #Trashes #MLK, and Leads the ‘#ConstitutionalSheriffs.’

#SamBushman #advocates for the “#whiterace." Should he run a #group that #trains #lawenforcement

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Police #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #AntiSemitism #Racism #WhiteSupremacy #Homophobia #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate #BlackMastodon #NoPoliceAtPride

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/constitutional-sheriffs-ceo-sam-bushman-ties-white-supremacists-1234855624/

#ConstitutionalSheriffs
#Fascism
#AnarchoNinaWrites

https://archive.ph/2023.08.29-163713/https://oliphant.social/@AnarchoNinaWrites/110968273167978803

@marcelias 😎👍👍👍 Recommended reading about the lawlessness-enforcing weirdos, who are haunted by delusions of being more powerful than the President. 👇👇👇

"The movement’s founder, William Potter Gale, argued the Constitution was divinely inspired to elevate White people above other racial groups, and some of his followers attacked government officials."

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/10/18/does-your-sheriff-think-he-s-more-powerful-than-the-president
#RuleOfLaw #AccountabilityMatters #JusticeMatters #DefendDemocracy #DefendTheConstitution #DrainRacism #Insurrectionists #ConstitutionalSheriffs #Insurrection #RacistExtremists #KKKAct

A must-read #investigation into the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and the burgeoning #ConstitutionalSheriffs movement legal experts have labeled anti-democratic and anti-government. CSPOA has sought to become more mainstream by securing state approval for taxpayer-funded law enforcement training. CSPOA has held formal training in at least 13 states, records show. Great reporting by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at ASU.

https://azcir.org/news/2023/08/21/constitutional-sheriff-law-enforcement-training-spreads-nationwide/

This week’s local news included mention of a county exec declaring he wants his county to become a #constitutionalcounty. Something about the phrasing reminded me of #ConstitutionalSheriffs so I did some sleuthing. Sure enough—a website full of alarming claims. Is anyone else hearing about this where you live?

http://www.defendruralamerica.com/DRA/Constitution.html

My favorite sentence so far: “The Constitution is a declaration, not an agreement.”

@QasimRashid @Refoel
And then, even with a Federeal law, there will be elected #ConstitutionalSheriffs who will refuse to enforce them & any state laws with which they disagree. #Statism’s logical destination.

👇🇺🇸 There's a new Fascist in town ...
"The fringe ideology of 'constitutional sheriffs' is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement"
#ConstitutionalSheriffs #AboveTheLaw #BetweenTheLaw #Texas
https://www.rawstory.com/the-fringe-ideology-of-constitutional-sheriffs-is-attracting-believers-within-texas-law-enforcement/