Free Republic

Paul Babeu, an up-and-coming member of the Republican Party, stepped down from his role as a co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s Arizona campaign on Saturday, in the wake of allegations that he threatened to deport a Mexican ex-boyfriend when the man refused to keep quiet about their years-long relationship.

A sheriff and his sergeant in Washington state have bought burial plots next to Josh Powell's boys in order to block family members from burying him next to them, according to a media report Wednesday.

The domestic-violence case against San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi did not start with a call from wife Eliana Lopez, or neighbors who heard a fight getting out of control at the family's home on New Year's Eve day. It started with a Jan. 4 phone call to police from a friend and neighbor, Ivory Madison, whom Lopez had visited on New Year's Day. According to a police affidavit, Madison videotaped Lopez crying and showing a bruise on her upper right arm, caused, Lopez said, by her husband grabbing her. Last month, District Attorney George Gascón filed misdemeanor charges against Mirkarimi...

This is a larger scandal than anything like Watergate, Nobody died there. People lied and there was a cover-up. Here, there’s lies and cover-ups and we still don’t have the answers, but people have been killed. Fourteen hundred of these guns are still outstanding; other people will die from actions of Eric Holder and the Department of Justice.”

Richard Mack is well known as the first of eventually six sheriffs to take on the Brady Law. And, much to the delight of pro-gunners around the country, the Supreme Court agreed with Mack in 1995 that the federal government did not have constitutional authority to force state officials to conduct background checks. Mack is no longer in office, but that has not stopped him from staying involved in promoting constitutional issues. He is now taking the lead in informing sheriffs of the authority they have as the chief law enforcement officer in their counties. While this has come as...

RIVER BEND – Ongoing wrinkles in the relationship between some Craven County commissioners and the Craven County sheriff resurfaced at Monday night’s meeting and were magnified by a shortage in the inmate concessions account. Meeting in River Bend as part of Craven County’s 300th anniversary effort to take government to the people, Commissioner Scott Dacey brought to the board’s attention the shortage of between $9,000 and $10,000 in the account jail inmates deposit for purchases from the jail commissary. Commissioner Jeff Taylor highlighted problems in getting from the sheriff requested information on deputy high-speed pursuit training, vehicle use policy, and...

The open-borders crowd just can’t believe it. After all the trumped-up “investigations”, the race-baiting by Obama officials and La Raza activists, the politically-driven charges by the Department of Justice… Sheriff Joe is running for another term. That’s right. “America’s Toughest Sheriff” refuses to quit, refuses to knuckle under or stop doing his job protecting the people of Maricopa County – the 4th most populous county in America – from illegal invaders and criminal aliens. And Sheriff Joe is also staying on the job for ALL Americans. Because Arpaio's office - a single sheriff's office - apprehends a staggering 25% of...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- In late October, Sheriff Chuck Wright, reacting to recent violent crime, told Spartanburg residents to arm themselves, but have those comments impacted crime rates? Numbers provided by the sheriff's office tell two different stories when it comes to crime trends. For instance, from October 31, 2011 (when the sheriff urged people to get guns) through January 24, 2012, certain violent crimes spiked, while others stayed the same or even dropped, as compared to the same time period the year before. From 10/31/2011 - 1/24/2012 there was one murder, 21 forcible rapes, 28 robberies, and 95 aggravated assaults...

Despite the impassioned pleas of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s wife, a judge has renewed a court order barring him from seeing or contacting his spouse or son until his domestic abuse trial is over. “This country is trying to pull my family apart,” Eliana Lopez told Judge Susan Breall at her husband’s arraignment Thursday. “This is the real violence, I believe.” Mirkarimi, seated in the front row, quivered and wiped tears from his eyes. Prosecutors asked to extend an emergency protective order filed after Mirkarimi’s arrest last week on domestic violence battery, child endangerment and witness dissuasion charges, all misdemeanors. The...

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is appeals a federal judge's ruling that prohibited his deputies from detaining people under Arizona's immigrant-smuggling law based solely on the suspicion that they're in the country illegally. ---------

San Francisco County Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi is vowing to remain in office and fight charges of misdemeanor domestic violence, child endangerment and dissuading a witness related to a fight with his wife. His wife, stood by her husband... "This is completely wrong." Dist. Atty. George Gascon said police are investigating the possibility that Mirkarimi may have been involved… An emergency protective order that bars Mirkarimi from his home and prohibit any contact between him and his wife, their toddler son, (and) require Mirkarimi to give up all his firearms within 24 hours. Gascon said that he is "not aware of...

It's looking likely that San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón will file misdemeanor domestic violence charges against newly sworn-in Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. Prosecutors are "convinced this is very real," said a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation. The case stems from a New Year's Eve incident in which Mirkarimi allegedly grabbed his wife - former Venezuelan telenovela star Eliana Lopez - with enough force to leave a bruise. Lopez has said publicly that she has no complaint against her husband and that the incident had been taken "out of context." Mirkarimi's attorney, Robert Waggener, said Tuesday that the sheriff...

The ongoing investigation into allegations of domestic violence against incoming Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has prompted Superior Court Judge Katherine Feinstein to withdraw from administering his oath of office. Feinstein, who had been invited to administer the oath today at the ceremony at the Herbst Theatre, said in an e-mail Saturday that "given that there is a pending investigation, and the possibility that a case might be brought before our court, I did not want to create a potential legal conflict in the future." Feinstein is one of many city officials who suddenly find themselves walking a legal and political tightrope...

Feds Wicthhunt against Sheriff Joe. ------- DOJ released a report last month alleging that Sheriff Joe's office racially profiles Latinos, ------ Sheriff Joe has denied the allegations, calling the DOJ report a politically motivated attack by Obama's administration. --------

NEWS RELEASE Sheriff’s Response to DOJ Letter December 15, 2011 (Maricopa County, AZ) The following statements were made by Sheriff Joe Arpaio during a press conference held on 12/15/11 in response to the 22 page Department of Justice letter received 1 hour prior to DOJ press conference. “Before we get started today, I want to say something to the citizens of Arizona and the rest of the nation. On the surface, it may appear that today’s findings and actions by our federal government are directed towards this Sheriff and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The truth of the matter is...

Phoenix - Sheriff Joe Arpaio said a scathing U.S. Justice Department report about his office's law enforcement tactics against Latinos marks "a sad day for America as a whole." Billed as America's toughest sheriff, Arpaio struck a defiant tone at a Thursday afternoon news conference in response to the report, which he called a politically motivated attack by the Obama administration that will make Arizona unsafe. (Snip) Homeland Security also will restrict the sheriff's office use of the Secure Communities program, which uses fingerprints collected in local jails to identify illegal immigrants.

When Tom Scocca applied to Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith three years ago for a permit to carry a concealed firearm, he thought he had all the right stuff. Not only was he a former police officer and sheriff's deputy working as a security manager at a major Silicon Valley tech company, he owned an investigative firm and was already licensed to openly carry a loaded gun. But the sheriff turned him down. Now that denial is the basis of a federal lawsuit in which Scocca alleges that Smith issues concealed-weapons permits in an arbitrary and capricious way. He...

Brad Rogers, Sheriff of Elkhart County, Indiana, is withstanding FDA bureaucrats who are harassing citizens in his county. The Complete Patient reports,The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn its subpoena of Indiana raw dairy farmer Richard Hochstetler to appear before a federal grand jury. He was scheduled to testify tomorrow in Detroit, in connection with an outbreak of illnesses linked by public health officials, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to the milk of his Forest Grove Dairy. But yesterday he received a certified letter saying that his subpoena was being withdrawn.The withdrawal came after Roger’s Sheriff’s Department told the...

“Patrick Sullivan was such a popular sheriff that Arapahoe County renamed the jail after him when he retired,” ABC News reports. “Sullivan, arrested on drug charges this week, is now an inmate in the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility.” What happened? The former top cop in Arapahoe County, which includes Littleton, Colo., is facing charges that he planned to distribute methamphetamine after police found him allegedly offering to trade the drug for sex with a man. Curious. Pathetic and sad, if true. And outrageous for those of us who do not face such inner demons, or display such profound...

The same Arizona group that took down the state’s leading immigration hard-liner is now gunning for its best-known lawman. Fresh off a successful drive to oust Republican state Senate President Russell Pearce this month, leaders of Citizens for a Better Arizona announced this week that they plan to form a “citizens posse” to challenge Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in his 2012 re-election bid. Sheriff Arpaio, who has carved out a national reputation for his no-nonsense treatment of lawbreakers in his county and for his running battles with the Obama administration and immigration advocates, is serving his fifth four-year term....

GOA member Dr. Ray Seidel alerted me to the stirring of freedom that is taking place in his village of Ruidoso, New Mexico. I have already reported on the first battle with Mayor Ray Alborn and how he tried to impose an unconstitutional gun ban in the village. To get the full story of what happened in Ruidoso, you can go here and listen to my first debriefing session with Seidel. I recently interviewed Dr. Seidel a second time on my Gun Owners News Hour weekly radio program and asked him about several acts of local interposition in the surrounding...

CLAYTON - A local gun shop owner is suing to force Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell to grant him a machine gun permit. Ronnie Mitchell, Bizzell's attorney, said he will ask the court to dismiss the case. Dennis Nielsen, owner of Freedom Arms, a newly opened gun store on U.S. 70 Business in Clayton, requested a machine gun permit in May. Bizzell refused, saying he needed more information, including the type of automatic weapon Nielsen needed a permit for, where and how it would be stored and why Nielsen needed the weapon. State law requires permits from the county sheriff...

Americans are pushing back all over the country. It's very clear that a revolution is in full swing. Tea Parties have been organizing to fight the bailouts and taxation. Occupy Movements have be springing up to fight against Wall St corruption at the hands of the Federal Reserve. Americans are pulling their cash out of Big Banks and supporting local Credit unions, as we move into a heated election season where it looks like it's anyone's game. In today's exclusive special report Gary Franchi is joined by Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack. They discuss the County Sheriff Project, a...

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona sheriff says that two guns seized as part of a major drug smuggling bust have been connected to a botched federal investigation known as "Fast and Furious." "Fast and Furious" was a controversial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' investigation that lost track of up to 1,400 weapons that were sold in Arizona gun stores to suspected straw buyers for Mexican drug gangs.

South Carolina sheriff urges women to carry gunsAP – 6 mins ago SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina sheriff is urging women to get concealed weapons permits and carry guns to protect themselves. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright made the suggestion Monday while discussing the arrest of a suspect in an attempted rape last weekend. Wright suggests that women carry a .45-caliber weapon because he says they wouldn't have to be accurate, just close to the target.

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. -- The Spartanburg County Sheriff is known for speaking his mind, and at a news conference on Monday, he didn't hold back his anger and frustration after a woman was attacked in a park over the weekend. Investigators said 46-year-old Walter Lance grabbed a woman who was walking her dog in Milliken Park on Sunday afternoon. They said Lance choked the woman, made her take off her clothing and tried to rape her. (Full Story)

'There are a couple of things ... that could be a little bit exciting' The results of a formal law-enforcement investigation into whether Barack Obama is eligible to be president of the United States could come as a "shock," according to Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Tuesday night, speaking to a tea-party group in Arizona, Arpaio said, "I can't tell you everything, but there could be a shock there somewhere that my guys came up with. I can't talk too much about it. It's in the process." WND previously has reported that Arpaio has constituted a special five-member law...

EXcerpt.....They make an excellent case for one. And they are the most directly affected law enforcement officers, most of them from border counties: Ten Arizona sheriffs demanded on Friday that a special counsel be appointed to investigate the roles of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other top administration officials in a gunrunning probe that allowed weapons to find their way into criminals' hands. "All of this doesn't smell right," said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, joined by several other sheriffs at a news conference outside the State Capitol. "I believe that this is a much larger scandal than anything...

PHOENIX - For the first time since Congressional hearings into the ATF's controversial Fast and Furious case started, Arizona sheriffs on both sides of the political aisle are joining forces. Six sheriffs from Pinal, Cochise, LaPaz, Mohave, Greenlee, and Yavapai counties spoke outside of the Arizona capitol building Friday, saying they feel betrayed by the federal government and the way the Fast and Furious case was handled. "If there is anything the President should apologize for, it's this," said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, a Republican. He also said Attorney General Eric Holder should resign or be fired. Although Republican...

Sheriffs from six Arizona counties held a press conference outside the Arizona State Capitol today. They said it was time for an independent investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. The sheriffs represent Pinal, Cochise, LaPaz, Mohave, Greenlee, and Yavapai counties and are both Democrats and Republicans. They all agreed that it was not a partisan issue for them but rather a feeling of betrayal by the Federal government. According to the report by ABC 15 reporter Lori Jean Gliha, all the sheriffs were united in their call for an independent investigation. "It's embarrassing to this country and me," said LaPaz...

TV program now about Maricopa County illegal immigration enforcement. Discovery Channel. Anyone else watching?

Obama will speak shortly at GM in Detroit about labor. Jimmy Hoffa Jr. in his introductions said about Republicans and/Tea Party; Let's take those sons-a-bitches out" That's all for now......

At the request of tea party leaders in Arizona, famed Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has promised to investigate the validity of Barack Obama's purported long-form birth certificate in a determination of the president's eligibility for the county's 2012 election ballot. Read more: Arizona sheriff promises Obama-eligibility probe http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=335261#ixzz1VRTcHdoo

Feds can find no wrong committed by Sheriff Joe - again. Holder and open border crowd very sad.

These things seem to come in spurts. We've encountered a number of stories recently of abuse of police power. Of course the most serious is the trial that has been taking place this week in New Orleans where several police officers are being charged with killing and wounding unarmed civilians after Hurricane Katrina. Then, of course there is Operation Gunwalker. And recently we have been sent numerous videos by readers of more examples of police abuse of power some of which have been posted. But what concerns us most is what we have learned locally. We have been investigating and...

Hinds County Democratic Party officials say they'll do their best to wrap up absentee and affidavit ballot counts today, giving answers to several candidates whose races are up in the air. "We are trying to conclude this. I'm hoping we can conclude a lot of things Friday," Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Claude McInnis said Thursday night.

Sheriff Joe haters lose again.

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies arrested an illegal immigrant working inside the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant, the nation's largest nuclear plant and one of the most closely monitored in the country.

As Wisconsin heads toward lifting a ban on carrying concealed weapons, researchers at the University of California-Davis have turned up some unsettling information about those who may take advantage of the law. In a study using 15-year-old data -- the most recent available -- published online in the journal Injury Prevention, the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program says those who carried concealed weapons or who had confronted someone with a gun were twice as likely to be heavy drinkers than non-gun owners. Gun owners who drove with loaded weapons were four times more likely to hop behind the wheel...

(Phoenix, AZ) The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Human Smuggling Unit arrested nine illegal aliens on Monday evening in the north valley. The nine illegal aliens agreed to pay up to $3,200 for entry into the United States. Their destinations include Chicago, Atlanta and Texas, Sheriff Joe Arpaio says. Since the creation of his Human Smuggling Unit, Arpaio has had over 46,000 illegal immigration investigations on the streets and in the jails. Sheriff Arpaio says that he will continue to enforce employer sanction and illegal immigration laws and expects to begin another crime suppression operation in the near future.

A sheriff's deputy in Pulaski County, Ill., has been arrested today and charged with 20 counts of felony including unlawful sale of firearms. Tara M. Kern, 38, of Villa Ridge, a deputy sheriff in Pulaski County, was charged with two counts of official misconduct, 16 counts of the unlawful sale of firearms and two counts of obstructing justice, according to a statement released today by special prosecutor Tyler R. Edmonds, the state's attorney for Union County. According to the press release, "Kern is alleged to have provided firearms to her husband, William A. Kern, a convicted felon, during the years...

HAMMOND | Four federal agencies are probing an alleged gun-running scheme involving Lake County Sheriff's Department personnel. Current Sheriff John Buncich said he stripped six officers of police powers Tuesday, the same day federal authorities raided sites in a case Buncich claims he prompted after taking office this year. The guns allegedly sold include weapons owned by the county, or confiscated during arrests, the source said. The officers on leave are Capt. Marco Kuyachich, Lt. Michael Reilly, Sgt. Joseph Kumstar, Officer Ronald Slusser, Officer Edward Kabella and Officer Scott Shelhart.

A Polk County sheriff's deputy filmed herself strapping naked children to a desk and spanking them with sex toys, then sent the videos to a boyfriend she met on a fetish website, investigators said. On Thursday, 45-year-old Robin Leigh Pagoria was charged with aggravated child abuse, production of child pornography, promotion of child pornography and possession of child pornography. According to an arrest report, the two children, described only as girls between the ages of 10 and 18, described in graphic detail multiple spanking sessions. Investigators say Pagoria cut the legs off one end of the desk she used for...

PHOENIX (AP) -- An examination in Arizona's Maricopa County has found that the sheriff's office, widely known for efforts against illegal immigrants, inappropriately spent $99 million from two jail funds over the last eight years to pay for other law enforcement operations - including immigration patrols. The $99 million figure released Wednesday is an update to an estimate made in September by budget officials who said the sheriff's office was believed to have used $60 million and $80 million over four or five years from a jail tax on other purposes.

Disgraceful. As he does every year, Sheriff Joe was supposed to read to 6th graders at a Phoenix school as part of 'Read Across America' week. However, his event was canceled. He says a district administrator canceled the appearance -- because it "might upset parents of Hispanic students". The school administrator at Sahuaro Elementary owes a public apology. More info here: http://bit.ly/hPNDra Outrageous. Joe Arpaio reads to kids every single year under this program. But the admin. was afraid "parents of Hispanic kids might complain", so he canceled on the top law enforcement official in the county. Unacceptable: Sahuaro Elementary...

SIERRA VISTA — A pair of outspoken Arizona sheriffs said if the state does not lead the way, the federal government will eventually kow-tow to those who want immigration reform without securing the border. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said the state is under attack by the ACLU and the U.S. Department of Justice for attempting to address what is a federal responsibility when it comes to the border. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said the federal government is trying to brainwash the American public, saying the border is safe and secure. The two spoke to more than 150 people...

Sheriff Joe Arpaio spoke at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA, and did not disappoint. He took on all comers: the Feds, East Coast elites, Mexico, etc. And he expressed his disappointment with the small turnout of protesters. In short, he once again made us proud. God bless this great public servant. Thanks Joe! Video LINK Join Stand With Arizona on Facebook (FReeper-made) Follow SWA on Twitter

Former state Rep. Jeffrey Perry has been hired to become a Barnstable County "special sheriff" after his failed bid to capture the congressional seat for Cape Cod, the Herald has learned. Perry, a former police officer and longtime public safety advocate, will earn $110,000 a year to work under James Cummings, the Barnstable County Sheriff. Cummings told the Herald that Perry will start today. The job puts Perry next in line to become the sheriff for the Cape. "I had talked to Jeff Perry about this position before his run for Congress because of the self-imposed eight-year term limit he...

Outspoken Tucson sheriff faces recall bidTea party group wants Dupnik out By Valerie Richardson The Washington Times 8:10 p.m., Thursday, January 20, 2011 Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has never lost an election, but that was before his remarks assigning blame for the deadly Tucson, Ariz., shooting to political "vitriol" and calling Arizona "a mecca for prejudice and bigotry." Now it's Sheriff Dupnik who finds himself on the public-opinion hot seat. A group opposed to illegal immigration has begun an effort to recall the sheriff in a special election. Meanwhile, a Pima County tea party group is planning on holding...

Ideally, if we are to resist the federal government’s attempts to modify our social behavior as a profession, as well as control our local law enforcement activities, we must refuse to ascribe to them a level of importance they have not earned. G u l a g     B o u n d Some time ago, I interviewed Captain Jim Wilmeth, who was then running for Sheriff of Lea County NM. Jim has not only a refreshing stance on enforcing our country’s laws but, his opinions are based squarely on the US Constitution. Note: With today’s increasing attempts by...