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. You can hear constitutional sheriff rhetoric in a number of incumbent candidates in states such as Washington, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts. Constitutional sheriffs assert they have the power not only to enforce the law but to be the ultimate arbiters of what the law is in their counties. professionalism, leadership development, All rights reserved. What Is A Constitutional Sheriff? Wilson Criscione, born and raised in Spokane, writes for InvestigateWest. The sheriff's protection starts when he tells the intruder, "by the power vested in me by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Washington, you are noticed you will not be admitted into this county. 225 (1916). Nevertheless the rule laid down is that the sheriff must use initiative in discovering violations and must follow up information received from responsible sources. CSPOA is an extremist group which espouses similar rhetoric to Gale and Beach. It is the oldest law enforcement office known in the common law system, and The concept of the constitutional sheriff is a subset of the larger antigovernment movement. 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. The job of this specific sheriff is to protect your personal rights against all foreign and domestic threats. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), a network of local law enforcement founded in . Fringe sheriffs from across the country have refused to enforce the rules inside their county lines. Franklin County sheriff candidate Chris Turner, for example, said he believes the elected sheriff has greater authority than the federal or state government. On the other hand, Burnett is one of the 17 sheriffs to endorse Songer this election cycle. 1125 Washington St SE PO Box 40100 Olympia, WA 98504 (360) 753-6200 To maintain a close working relationship with WASPC on In 2019, they awarded Songer the Washington State Constitutional Sheriff of the Year Award. Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese also rejected Macks ideology. In Washington, a sheriff can be removed through a recall process just like any other elected politician, but recall efforts are typically unsuccessful. For one, the word sheriff doesnt appear in the U.S. Constitution. If the intruder trespasses into this county, they shall be arrested and arraigned. In a recent webinar with Mack, Songer said that the association awarding him the Constitutional Sheriff of the Year was an eye-opener regarding his duties as sheriff. Jay Inslee accused them of grandstanding. But Inslee didnt do anything else besides tell the Washington State Patrol to enforce the law in those counties. While only about 300 of more than 3,000 sheriffs in the country are official members of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, nearly half of sheriffs nationwide who responded to a survey by The Marshall Project said they believe their power outranks federal or state government in their county. A similar result was reached in State v. Reichman, 135 Tenn. 685, 188 S.W. Your guarantee of this protection is insured by his oath to uphold the Constitution of our nation and state. June 25, 2022, at 10:10 a.m. We promise they will not leave the same, CSPOAs leader former sheriff Richard Mack said of the event during a Feb. 23 interview on the right-wing online show American Journal that was rebroadcast to Infowars. In answer to your second question, it appears that a county prosecutor has no authority to compel any act by the sheriff. Its origins are in the American county supremacy movement, which includes two concepts that often work in tandem. the chief law enforcement officers of their respective counties. 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. They Just Proposed an Extreme Ban. Its not just worrisome because they may decide not to enforce laws they disagree with. Elections are the best way to hold people accountable, she said. General duties. In 2014 he argued that the Maryland legislature was no longer a "valid . Its not just worrisome because they may decide not to enforce laws they disagree with. Bhattacharyya said the worst-case scenario would be if these sheriffs are emboldened to meddle with the elections process. 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. Leaf, who has been openly friendly to militia in the past and questioned whether the men charged with kidnapping Gov. 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. 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 fringe ideology of "constitutional sheriffs" is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement. Using sheriffs to challenge laws is a part of . He has previously declared that the greatest threat we face today is not terrorists; it is our own federal government.. 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 . cooperation may be had with other public officials and Duly enacted laws are presumed to be constitutional. 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. Bhattacharyya, too, has mixed feelings about appointed sheriffs. © 2022 Sheriff Constitutional. All Rights Reserved. One morning last year, around 60 sheriffs and . 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. Article 11, 5 of the Washington State Constitution denotes "The sheriff" is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. By SHANNON NAJMABADI, The Colorado Sun. By subscribing, you agree to receive occasional membership emails from Crosscut/Cascade Public Media. Instead, hed rather educate the public about what he calls the far-right agenda and hope voters make the right decision. In addition to the duties contained in RCW 36.28.010, it Of course, if the situation should arise in which a sheriff had committed a misdemeanor such as set out in RCW 36.28.140, or misconduct as set out in chapter 42.20 RCW, it would then become the duty of the county prosecuting attorney to prosecute the action in behalf of the county and the state, but this authority can be exercised only in respect to prior action or inaction of the sheriff and cannot be used prospectively to move the sheriff to any action. A statute sheriff is a servant to the Deep State and is in betrayal of their Constitutional oath. I will follow the rule of law, Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said at the time, when I believe its constitutional.. That's not a "movement" as Ms. Donnelly suggests - that's a fact of the position. The Constitutional Sheriff is a judicial officer, that "shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective counties for a term of four years and shall have such qualifications . That year, Mack shared their strategy with Fox News: We were actually strategizing to put all the women and children up front. InvestigateWest reached out to each sheriff candidate in Washington hoping to clarify how they view a sheriffs authority. Of particular concern are the self-styled constitutional sheriffs an increasingly influential subset of sheriffs who are subverting not only reform efforts but also core democratic principles. bodies in performance of their duties. Bhattacharyya, too, has mixed feelings about appointed sheriffs. I said, You know, if Im going to be elected sheriff, my primary job is to interpose when government is the bad guy, Songer said. 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. Sheriffs have some discretion when enforcing laws, but they do not have the power to decide what is constitutional like the judicial branch. A new national constitutional sheriffs group also emerged in 2021. Sheriffs closer to the mainstream have also played a role in undermining police accountability. Elected sheriffs are accountable directly to the Constitution (United States and Washington state, in this case) and to the people. This farcical argument flies in the face of decades of civilian oversight of elected sheriffs. Citizens could either volunteer or be called up by their county sheriff, who Gale believed was the only legal law enforcement officer in the country. Lamb was also a confirmed speaker at sovereign citizen group RidersUSAs seventh annual Second Amendment event, which was held in Phoenix, Arizona, on Feb. 15, 2020. Songer, along with Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney and others, refused to enforce state COVID mandates. The constitutional sheriff movement has its roots in the Posse Comitatus ("power of the county") movement of the 1970s and '80s. Washington: DC: Monday . Op. Jan. 17, 2023 More recently, Mack and the association have been focused on resisting COVID mandates and encouraging sheriffs to investigate unfounded conspiracies about the 2020 election. (by CSPOA on Dec 17, 2014) The New American reports: Local media in Olympia, Washington, covered Gavin Seims We Will. Already, 2020 election deniers are recruiting county sheriffs to more closely watch over future elections. Listen to the Story, Saving Skagit County. One county law, titled the Newton County Missouri Second Amendment Preservation Act was enacted in Newton County, on Feb. 3, 2021. "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. 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. One constitutional sheriff in Nevada went viral in 2019 for comparing gun control to Nazi Germany. 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. 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. Hoping to quell their constituents' fears, the Washington State Sheriffs' Association put out a statement last week affirming their commitment to uphold the Constitution - specifically, the Second Amendment. If their assertion brings to mind the anti-government, militia-supporting Oath Keepers organization, you are on the right track. Never been convicted of a felony (with a few caveats). The sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. Though constitutional sheriffs' groups had been on . That is a decision we leave to the courts. This posse comitatus based rallying cry continues to be the primary theme that permeates the ideology of CSPOA and other constitutional sheriffs across America. Association. Phone: (360) 486-2380 FAX: (360) 486-2381. and the United States, the mission of the Washington State 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 group endeavors to radicalize county sheriffs across America into believing they are the ultimate law enforcement authority, able to enforce, ignore or break state and federal law as they choose. The Anti-Defamation League considers the organization an anti-government extremist group., Songer has been a prominent voice for Macks group after Mack celebrated his stance on Washingtons gun laws. 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. Constitutional Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper, Virginia, said he would deputize the citizens in his county if gun control laws were passed. Multiple county sheriffs wrote the language for or publicly supported these laws. These assertions are often accepted by lawmakers without challenge thus moving anti-government and racist ideas from the fringe to the policymaking mainstream. 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.. At least 20 county sheriffs in Washington state . To this day, the sheriffs in the survey are 83 per cent opposed to a national ban on assault weapons. Sheriffs across the state are predictably opposed to such a move, but even those most concerned with rogue constitutional sheriffs dont love that idea. 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. Posting photos to his Facebook page with the caption, Riders USA hosted the Protect the 2nd Amendment Rally Today, and I was glad to be with both them and my longtime friends at Oath Keepers.. In 2014, Mack participated in the Bundy standoff against the U.S. government, in Bunkerville, Nevada, alongside his fellow Oath Keepers and additional militias. . While sheriffs have discretion they dont go after every person for jaywalking, for example their oath of office does not give them the authority to pass laws like legislatures or to decide their constitutionality like the courts. The 3081 elected sheriffs nationwide are responsible for running county jails, which house a third of the country's incarcerated population, and enforcing laws within their county that are passed at the state and federal level. 309. 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. 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. I dont care if its George Washington himself, they cannot tell us what to do., The group justifies this by declaring that constitutional sheriffs are upholding and defending the constitution.. Caveats ) lawmakers without challenge thus moving anti-government and racist ideas from fringe. Their constitutional oath the Deep state and is in betrayal of their constitutional.... Of & quot ; constitutional sheriffs and protect your personal rights against all foreign and domestic threats Duly. Clarify whether he believes sheriffs power supersedes state and federal officials refused to enforce the law in those.!, titled the Newton county Missouri second Amendment Preservation act was enacted in Newton county, on Feb. 3 2021! 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