Former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Faces Civil Trial

By AP. Former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke’s run-in with a 25-year-old man who shook his head at him while boarding a flight last year is headed to trial.

Daniel Black sued the sheriff for having deputies detain him and question him at Milwaukee’s airport, but Clarke’s taunting social media posts remain the focus of the case. Here’s a look at history of the case and the legal issues that will play out in federal court. The trial starts Monday.

Clarke and Black were boarding a flight from Dallas to Milwaukee on Jan. 15, 2017 — the day Clarke’s beloved Dallas Cowboys were facing the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. The sheriff was clad in Dallas gear without his trademark cowboy hat and Black said he didn’t immediately recognize him because of that. He asked Clarke if he was Milwaukee’s sheriff, according to his lawsuit, and when Clarke said yes, Black shook his head disapprovingly. (Read more from “Former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Faces Civil Trial” HERE)

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Ex-Sheriff David Clarke Faces Trial over Facebook Taunts Against Plane Passenger

By Huffington Post. Staunch President Donald Trump ally and former Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke faces trial this month for Facebook taunts against a plane passenger who Clarke thought disrespected him.

Passenger Dan Black filed a civil rights lawsuit against Clarke arguing he violated Black’s First Amendment rights with retaliatory Facebook posts on the sheriff’s page. Wisconsin U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller ruled Friday that Clarke’s posts could “reasonably be understood as a threat, coercion, or intimidation that punishment … will immediately follow.” A jury is now set to hear the case Jan. 22.

Threatening posts appeared on the sheriff’s Facebook page after Black, a Milwaukee resident, filed a complaint about his treatment by Clarke when the two men encountered each other on a plane heading from Dallas to Milwaukee early last year. Black shook his head when he recognized Clarke, and Clarke directed deputies to detain Black after landing. Black was met by six deputies and two police dogs, questioned and escorted from the airport, according to an FBI account of the events.

Black filed a civil rights suit against the deputies and Clarke — who was once considered for a post as Trump’s deputy secretary of Homeland Security — accusing them of violating his constitutional rights of free speech and due process, and his right against unreasonable seizure. (Read more from “Ex-Sheriff David Clarke Faces Trial over Facebook Taunts Against Plane Passenger” HERE)

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