The Obama administration has been after Sheriff Joe Arpaio from the beginning of his administration because of his policing effort to find illegals and get them deported. They call it racial profiling, of course.
Well they’ve now charged Arpaio with criminal contempt of court for disregarding a judge’s order to stop his ‘immigration patrols’, two weeks ahead of the election:
FOX NEWS – The longtime sheriff of metropolitan Phoenix has been charged with criminal contempt-of-court for ignoring a judge’s order in a racial-profiling case, leaving the 84-year-old lawman in a tough spot two weeks before Election Day as he seeks a seventh term.
The U.S. Department of Justice promised two weeks ago that it would prosecute Sheriff Joe Arpaio, but the misdemeanor count wasn’t officially filed against him until Tuesday, when U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton signed it.
Arpaio could face up to six months in jail if convicted. A misdemeanor conviction would not bar Arpaio from serving as sheriff.
Arpaio lawyer Mel McDonald said the sheriff will contest the charge. “We believe that when the final chapter is written, he will be vindicated,” McDonald said.
McDonald said Arpaio will not be arrested and no mugshot will be taken. He will plead not guilty in a court filing.
The criminal charges stem from the profiling case that Arpaio lost three years ago that morphed into a contempt case after the sheriff was accused of defying a 2011 court order to stop his signature immigration patrols.
Arpaio has acknowledged violating U.S. District Judge Murray Snow’s order but insists his disobedience was not intentional.
Snow disagreed, concluding Arpaio knowingly continued the patrols because he believed his immigration enforcement efforts would help his 2012 re-election campaign.
Arpaio ran a TV political ad last week saying the Obama administration’s Justice Department planned to prosecute him because of its opposition to his immigration enforcement efforts.
In the past, Arpaio has walked away from criminal investigations without facing charges and still has managed to get re-elected.
Here’s the ad they reference in the article from last week: