Sheriff Group Says They Can Ignore Federal Law
This seems dangerous.
A national sheriffs group tells its members they have the right to ignore federal laws
Sheriff Richard Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, told ABC News that sheriffs must "protect their citizens from the overreach of an out-of-control federal government" and "they have no obligation to enforce" laws they deem unconstitutional or unjust.
Nowhere in the Constitution, federal law, or state laws are sheriffs given this authority.
Since this group has also gone down the rabbit hole of believing and spreading disinformation about the 2020 election, it's easy to imagine how they could contribute to undermining our democracy. There was a widespread effort involving officials at all levels of government in 2020 to overturn the results of the presidential election, as the Jan. 6 Committee and recent federal and Georgia state indictments show. If sheriffs have the authority of mini-dictators, able to do whatever they see fit with regard to the law, they could undermine, overturn or take over the elections apparatus in their counties.
This group is part of a growing authoritarianism on the right. American Values Coalition will continue to fight these efforts and bring attention to this trend. If you find this information helpful, please share it.
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