https://davidneiwert.substack.com/p/like-ice-far-right-sheriffs-defy
“Just for the record, my deputies don’t wear masks,” Swank told the legislators. “But once you pass this law that they can’t, I will not only allow them, but I will encourage them to do so, just to see what you do.“
I don’t recognize your authority to impose these controls over me.”
#keithSwank #usPol #secretpolice #Fascism #MAGA #pierceCountySheriff
The underlying claim is that county sheriffs have superior status by virtue of being elected—even though in fact the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of local sheriffs or their powers at any point. This status, they believe, enables sheriffs and their deputies to ignore all federal or state laws they choose, and to only force local laws of their choosing. They are also free to ignore court rulings if they choose.
#keithSwank #usPol #secretpolice #Fascism #MAGA #pierceCountySheriff
The core of Mack’s ideology is drawn from the work of W. Cleon Skousen, a leading light of the radical right in the 1960s and ‘70s, famous for his red-baiting books and speeches. Skousen in turn drew most of his ideas from the deeply antisemitic and racist Posse Comitatus movement, though he eschewed obviously bigoted rhetoric himself, as does Mack. But the central Posse Comitatus idea was that sheriffs can usurp both federal agencies and the courts and unilaterally override any laws they choose.
#keithSwank #usPol #secretpolice #Fascism #MAGA #pierceCountySheriff
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