USA TODAY US Edition

Pardon America’s toughest sheriff

- Trent Franks Trent Franks, a Republican, represents Arizona’s 8th congressio­nal district.

Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio has dedicated his whole life to keeping his fellow human beings safe; in his senior years, he has specifical­ly protected Arizona communitie­s. It is not necessary to agree with all of his methods of law enforcemen­t to recognize his lifelong sacrifice.

Because Sheriff Arpaio gained a high profile as America’s toughest sheriff, along with being dedicated to maintainin­g the sovereign borders of the United States, he became a lightning rod and principal target of the militant left wing.

Now, despite Joe having no prior conviction­s, no criminal record and no record of wrongs, his detractors found a Clinton-appointed judge who would, arbitraril­y and without a jury, issue a conviction that contradict­ed every witness that testified in the case.

Anyone who knows Joe would conclude he never meant to be in deliberate violation of the law. I do not believe that he understood the full measure of restrictio­ns contained in the 2011 order — an order that should never have been issued in the first place. Seventeen months later, when the scope of those restrictio­ns became clear to him and his team, he ended his patrols.

Convenient­ly, the ex-sheriff faced criminal prosecutio­n only after his high-profile endorsemen­t of Donald Trump.

The political left has turned the court system into a blunt instrument with which they criminally prosecute political opponents. This is an injustice not only to Joe Arpaio, but all Americans citizens who rely on the legal system to protect their constituti­onal rights. Political dissenters, beware!

It would be moral and just for President Trump to issue a pardon for Joe Arpaio. Such a decision would be celebrated by Arizonans who appreciate and respect a man who has accomplish­ed much for law and order in our state.

America’s toughest sheriff has given every thing he had in a long and successful career in public service and law enforcemen­t. His seriously ailing wife, Ava, has been with him every step of the way. Now in their sunset years of life, they both deserve a peaceful and honorable retirement and the thanks of a nation they have so diligently served for so long.

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