Trump issues pardon to ex-Sheriff Arpaio
The retired Arizona lawman had been convicted of defying a judge’s immigration order.
President Donald Trump late Friday pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the retired Arizona lawman who was convicted for intentionally disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case.
The White House said the 85-year-old ex-sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County was a “worthy candidate” for a presidential pardon.
The action came several days after Trump, at a rally in downtown Phoenix, strongly hinted that he intended to issue a pardon.
“So was Sheriff Joe was convicted for doing his job?” Trump asked supporters. “I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s going to be just fine, OK.”
Arpaio, who became linked to Trump during the campaign for their hardline immigration views, was convicted of a misdemeanor for intentionally defying a judge’s order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.
Both politicians questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama’s birth certificate and have a similar history in sparring with judges.
In the statement Friday night, the White House said, “Throughout his time as Sheriff, Arpaio continued his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon.”
Speaking before the rally from his home in the suburbs of Phoenix, “America’s toughest sheriff,” as he once called himself, described Trump as a friend. But he said he did not ask for a pardon and that he does not see one as payback from Trump for his political support.
“I know he believes that I was done wrong,” said Arpaio, who served as sheriff for more than two decades before voters ousted him in November. “This has all been politically motivated ... a travesty of justice.”
Arpaio has long been a divisive figure at the center of national debates over policing and illegal immigration. He was extremely popular with many Arizona voters, but his harsh policies drew sharp criticism from advocates for immigrants and civil rights.
He forced inmates to wear pink underwear and housed them in canvas tents under the hot Arizona sun. And he ordered his officers to stop drivers simply on the suspicion that they were in the country illegally, sometimes leading to the detention of Latinos who were citizens or in the country legally.
Arpaio’s conviction stems from a 2011 court order for him and his force to stop racially profiling Latinos and turning detainees over to federal immigration authorities. He openly defied it, leading a U.S. District Court judge to find him guilty of contempt.
He had been scheduled to be sentenced in early October.
Trump’s statements suggesting he would issue a pardon prompted activists, politicians and other critics of Arpaio to accuse the president of deepening racial divisions instead of trying to heal them.
“If this does move forward, President Trump is only showing Americans he doesn’t care about police abuse,” said Maria Castro, a community organizer for Puente Human Rights Movement, a local immigrant rights group. “He’s saying racism is OK.”
Puente organized the “White Supremacy Will Not Be Pardoned” march outside Trump’s rally Tuesday. The event drew nearly 5,000 attendees, many carrying signs and inflatable balloons of Arpaio dressed in a prison jumpsuit and handcuffs.
Liz Chatham, an immigration attorney in Phoenix, questioned Trump’s rationale and said a pardon could have damaging repercussions.
“People in this community were profiled and a court of law agreed,” she said. “This was justice, and now it could be thrown out? The president is sending a strong message that law enforcement can essentially have free rein to violate a person’s rights.”
Politicians had also pressured Trump not to pardon Arpaio.
U.S. Reps. Ruben Gallego, Raul M. Grijalva and Tom O’Halleran — all Arizona Democrats — sent a letter to Trump this month saying they believe that “public officials should be held accountable when they commit crimes and that the rule of law should be applied fairly regardless of how powerful an officeholder’s friend’s are.”
“By pardoning Mr. Arpaio, an early supporter of your campaign, you would be sending a clear message that your allies are immune from prosecution,” they wrote.
Asked about a potential pardon, Arpaio’s successor, Paul Penzone, said it was the president’s decision to make, but noted that “this community was not happy with what they had as a sheriff, and the courts — the justice system — held him accountable.”