This posse comitatus based rallying cry continues to be the primary theme that permeates the ideology of CSPOA and other constitutional sheriffs across America. 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. 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 . Sheriff Myers is an active member. a one-time candidate for Dallas County sheriff, is the Texas State Director . We have your letter inquiring whether this office has previously given any opinions defining the duties of a county sheriff generally and particularly as to the investigation of criminal charges. 2023 Cascade Public Media. Though constitutional sheriffs' groups had been on . On Apr. The oath that sheriffs take is not unique. I will follow the rule of law, Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said at the time, when I believe its constitutional.. This statement was voted on and approved by a majority of the sheriffs in the . And here in Washington state, weve got some bad guys in government.. In that time, the sheriffs own employees have filed at least 25 complaints against him and the office, portraying a law enforcement agency where women are sidelined and intimidation is routine. This office has not rendered any prior opinions on this matter. InvestigateWest reached out to each sheriff candidate in Washington hoping to clarify how they view a sheriffs authority. The protection of these rights come under the jurisdiction of the county Constitutional Sheriff. SHERIFFS, PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS - DUTIES AND POWERS. In Snohomish County, efforts to recall Sheriff Fortney over his refusal to enforce pandemic restrictions failed. Bhattacharyya, too, has mixed feelings about appointed sheriffs. Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers National Operations Director Sam Bushman owns Liberty News Radio, which produces his own show Liberty Roundtable, where he has hosted antigovernment figures such as Stewart Rhodes, Scott Bradley of Freedom Rising Sun and members of the John Birch Society. Sheriffs have some discretion when enforcing laws, but they do not have the power to decide what is constitutional like the judicial branch. 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. 322. I think its a decision that communities have to make on their own, she said. Boosted by the pandemic, constitutional sheriffs are a political force. To people like Michael German, a former FBI special agent who embedded with militias and is . The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association was founded in 2011 by Richard Mack, a former sheriff in Arizona who believes the greatest threat we face, as a nation, is our own federal government. The organization was opposed to the Obama administrations gun initiatives and promised its members wouldnt enforce policies they thought violated the Constitution. Other sheriffs or candidates for the office may not believe their authority is that powerful but are still willing to disregard a law based on its perceived constitutionality. 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. This . What happened after the Jan. 6 confrontation in Olympia? Association. Recent events have shown that local and federal politicians are eager to impose authoritarian measures in the name of "the common good." All rights reserved. Sheriffs have some discretion when enforcing laws, but they do not have the power to decide what is constitutional like the judicial branch. 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. Wilson Criscione, born and raised in Spokane, writes for InvestigateWest. Lacey, WA 98516. Its not just worrisome because they may decide not to enforce laws they disagree with. Article 11, 5 of the Washington State Constitution denotes "The sheriff" is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. Instead, hed rather educate the public about what he calls the far-right agenda and hope voters make the right decision. 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 . In March 2011, for example, New Hampshire sheriff Christopher Conley who was listed as a member of the council of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association from November 2012 . The product of Republican political consultant Nathan Sproul, Protect America Now, incorporated in Phoenix, Arizona, as a domestic non-profit corporation on June 26, 2020. What Is A Constitutional Sheriff? InvestigateWest. Many of them have equated government-enacted health guidelines regarding masks and vaccines with tyranny. Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers is the current president of the Washington State Sheriffs Association. Some of the sheriffs who declined to enforce these laws are constitutional sheriffs. This issue became more evident in 2021 when constitutional sheriffs, including CSPOA, began to oppose state and federal COVID-19 health. 36.28.011 The court added he need not patrol the streets as the police do, but he must keep his eyes and ears open for public offenses. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan were actually attempting a legal citizens arrest, claimed in the post that the Posse and Militia have more lawful character than the agencies that have recently arrested the Militia. Leaf is also associated with the sovereign citizen National Liberty Alliance. The AGs office did not return a message seeking comment for this article. WA Democrats hid messages on Chinese American History Month bill, Out & Back: A Portland club counters the racism of runnings hometown, Parasites are vanishing from WA waters. Because theres not a great way to hold them accountable, other than by not electing them.. along with Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney and others, opposed to the Obama administrations gun initiatives, unfounded conspiracies about the 2020 election, is part of the constitutional sheriffs movement, Employees describe culture of retaliation under Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, Klickitat Countys sheriff contracted COVID, but still plans to fight pandemic restrictions. Burnetts challenger in this years election, Mike Morrison, said he wouldnt allow personal feelings to dictate how I do law enforcement. He referred to Mack and the constitutional sheriffs group as more of an extremist political group and said he would consult with prosecutors and the county attorney if he had questions over the legality of enforcing a law. Such notions have long been promoted by figures like sheriff Richard Mack, who leads the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. My No. He also held a spot on the board of directors of the nationwide Oath Keepers militia group until 2015. The so-called "constitutional sheriff" movement has grown in Washington. This idea was pioneered by Christian identity minister William Potter Gale in the 1970s as Posse Comitatus, which is Latin for the power of the county. Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week. Less than 34% of the $2.6 million Iowans have donated to an Iowa sheriffs' group in recent years has been used for the stated purpose of . Foxs 5 p.m. chat fest is the new king of cable news. In the exercise of executive and administrative functions and in conserving the public peace [[Orig. Thirteen sheriffs, however, went a step beyond merely expressing their displeasure. And with the Nov. 8, 2022, election 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. 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. . The fringe ideology of "constitutional sheriffs" is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement. Washington: DC: Monday . Yet there is an urgent need to address how sheriffs are increasingly undermining law enforcement accountability and distorting public policy more broadly. When the group of Washington sheriffs defied the state gun laws in 2019, Gov. You also inquire to what extent a prosecuting attorney can compel a county sheriff to investigate and secure evidence to support a criminal charge, both prior and after the time of filing an information. Constitutional sheriffs will continue to confuse personal and political beliefs with constitutionality, using their elected positions as law enforcement officers to pick and choose what laws they will enforce based upon these preferences. OPBs critical reporting and inspiring programs are made possible by the power of member support. 225 (1916). Thousands violate unconstitutional Washington state gun law. They announced they would defy the new gun laws because, in their interpretation, it violated the U.S. Constitution. Anderson on Sheriffs, 44. "It's dangerous because it shows an extreme bias by the sheriffs of Washington state in favor of Second Amendment rights . This farcical argument flies in the face of decades of civilian oversight of elected sheriffs. The defiance of the sheriffs is an act of interposition and a demonstration of the lesser magistrate doctrine. 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. At least 20 county sheriffs in Washington state . Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions, Jenkins said. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), a network of local law enforcement founded in . She says the name of the sheriff's group is designed . But the experience hasnt changed his stance. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. The Sheriff Mack Show: Sheriff Richard Mack & Sam Bushman ft. Tina Peters, CSPOA Posse Intel 1-10-23: Sam & Jack Discuss Hard Times Coming, Survivalist Mindsets, CSPOA 01/03/23 Webinar - Sam Bushman, Jack Mullen, & State Director Kirk Launius, Sheriff Mack Webinar / Consultation Request. In recent months, a group of self-proclaimed "constitutional sheriffs" in Washington state has . 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. To study emerging common issues and develop responses. When asked about this particular act during an interview, Mack expressed that he loved it and said, Lets all follow Newton Countys example. This illustrates the potential danger of these laws. Whenever a state legislature passes overreaching violations of their constituents' civil liberties, or the federal government attempts to impose unconstitutional gun laws, there is a Constitutional Sheriff who can stand in their way. A campaign manager for Clark County sheriff candidate Rey Reynolds responded to InvestigateWests questions with a letter to the editor Reynolds wrote to a local paper in which he said, the sheriff is the ultimate law enforcement authority in a county. The campaign did not respond to follow-up questions aiming to clarify whether he believes sheriffs power supersedes state and federal officials. The protection of these rights come under the jurisdiction of the county Constitutional Sheriff. the chief law enforcement officers of their respective counties. 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. More recently, Mack and the association have been focused on resisting COVID mandates and encouraging sheriffs to investigate unfounded conspiracies about the 2020 election. Sheriffs and ICE. The power of sheriffs does not outrank that of the feds or the state, but in practice, theres often little to be done about a sheriff who refuses to enforce laws. 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. Each officer is required only to act according to law. When the sheriffs could not be persuaded that was that. Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese also rejected Macks ideology. 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 . RCW For Songer, it was a tipping point. 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 . / November 7, 2022. The Center for Public Integrity reported five years ago that Mack had already trained more than 400 sheriffs in how to interpret the Constitution and how to resist authorities and laws that violate it. These numbers are almost certainly higher now and rising: Mack has continued to train, and both Montana and Texas this year approved official training events, led by Mack, to teach constitutional sheriff tenets to law enforcement personnel. Enter Your Email Address & Get FREE Exclusive Email Updates From Sheriff Mack & Peaceful, Constitutional Solutions & Strategies You Can Use! Its virtually the same as the oath that every other government officer takes, said Bhattacharyya. Sheriffs across the state are predictably opposed to such a move, but even those most concerned with rogue constitutional sheriffs dont love that idea. It certainly means passing laws that make sheriffs just as accountable to democratic governance as any other law enforcement officer. It was a turning point for Songer. Jan. 17, 2023 To preserve and protect the office of Sheriff. To provide immediate support to fellow sheriffs, law Every Sunday morning, Crosscut's weekly email sums up the best stories of the week. Gale promoted the formation of citizens militias, making the claim that all healthy men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five who were not in the military could be mobilized into a posse comitatus to redress their grievances, according to the book Aryan Cowboys: White Supremacists and the Search for a New Frontier, 1970-2000. DENVER (AP) More than a dozen candidates campaigning to be top . Instead, hed rather educate the public about what he calls the far-right agenda and hope voters make the right decision. shall be the duty of all sheriffs to make complaint of all Already, 2020 election deniers are recruiting county sheriffs to more closely watch over future elections. So much for prime time. As Mack tells it, he said the federal Government could not tell him what to do; that they were not his boss.. Other sheriffs or candidates for the office may not believe their authority is that powerful but are still willing to disregard a law based on its perceived constitutionality. 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 . In the execution of his office, he and his deputies: (1) Shall arrest and commit to prison all persons who break the peace, or attempt to break it, and all persons guilty of public offenses; (2) Shall defend the county against those who, by riot or otherwise, endanger the public peace or safety; (3) Shall execute the process and orders of the courts of justice or judicial officers, when delivered for that purpose, according to law; (4) Shall execute all warrants delivered for that purpose by other public officers, according to Its origins are in the American county supremacy movement, which includes two concepts that often work in tandem. 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. 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 Supreme Court sided with Mack and Printz on June 27, 1997, determining that the Constitution did not impel state officers to carry out federal duties without their consent. You can hear constitutional sheriff rhetoric in a number of incumbent candidates in states such as Washington, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts. Washington state recently introduced bills for some of the strictest gun laws in the country but they have some very important opponents: the sheriffs. Every believer in democracy should find it chilling that the CSPOA counts several hundred sheriffs as dues-paying members and hundreds of other sheriffs as supporters. Lamb, along with Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Brevard, Florida, Sheriff Jesse Watts of Eureka, Nevada, Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper, Virginia and Sheriff Tom Hodgson of Bristol County, Massachusetts, are advisers to the group Protect America Now, which has been linked to anti-immigrant Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). This American is a constitutionalist, a patriot, a husband, father, grandfather, businessman, firefighter, and Plaintiffs claim the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act are racially discriminatory against non-Indigenous people. Mack has been associated with a long list of extremists. The seeds for this type of dissent by some Eastern Washington sheriffs began last year with the passing of I-1639, which greatly restricted firearms rights in the state. 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