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Joe Arpaio Announces Run for Seventh Term

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Joe Arpaio announced Sunday that he will seek a seventh term as the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, promising to reopen his infamous tent city jail and bring back controversial jail policies that drew the ire of civil rights advocates and made him a darling of tough-on-crime conservatives.

Arpaio, who called himself “America’s toughest sheriff” during his 24-year run, said he’ll challenge incumbent Paul Penzone in the 2020 sheriff’s race. Penzone, a Democrat, unseated Arpaio in 2016 for the job.

“On this day, August 25, 2019, after consultation and approval from my wife of 61 years, Ava, I have decided to run to be re-elected Sheriff,” Arpaio said in a news release. “Watch out world! We are back!” . . .

He opened up an outdoor jail, known as “Tent City” in the desert where temperatures often reached triple digits, and made inmates wear pink garments and jumpsuits, earning him national headlines.

In addition to promising to reopen the tent jail, he said he would “reinstitute the Posse to its former strength” and “continue to enforce all Arizona laws that deal with drug trafficking, sex trafficking and other crimes associated with the border and illegal immigration.” (Read more from “Joe Arpaio Announces Run for Seventh Term” HERE)

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Arpaio ‘Seriously, Seriously, Seriously’ Considering Senate Run

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Former Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio told The Daily Beast Thursday that he is “seriously, seriously, seriously considering running for the U.S. Senate” to replace the retiring Jeff Flake.

The Daily Beast reached out to Arpaio shortly after Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., announced his resignation over discussions with two female staffers about whether they would consider being a surrogate mother.

Arpaio described Franks as “a great man, and a great friend, and it’s a great loss for Arizona and our country.” . . .

Should Arpaio enter the race, he would be joining a crowded Republican primary field that includes Rep. Martha McSally and former state senator Kelli Ward. Ward, who was leading Flake by 26 points in one poll taken before the incumbent chose not to run, is backed by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. (Read more from “Arpaio ‘Seriously, Seriously, Seriously’ Considering Senate Run” HERE)

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Arpaio Malicious-Prosecution Lawsuit Goes to Trial

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Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was unable to cite any evidence on the witness stand Wednesday to back up his now-dismissed animal cruelty case against one of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s sons in the 2014 deaths of 21 dogs.

The former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix told jurors he felt his detectives had gathered the proper evidence to recommend charges after the dogs died of heat exhaustion. He repeatedly declined to explain his confidence in the investigation into Austin Flake and his then-wife Logan Brown, who were caring for the animals at a kennel operated by Brown’s parents . . .

The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, and the owners of the kennel pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined the facility’s air conditioner failed because the operators didn’t properly maintain it. (Read more from “Arpaio Malicious-Prosecution Lawsuit Goes to Trial” HERE)

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Federal Judge Refuses to Erase Joe Arpaio’s Conviction Despite Trump Pardon

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A federal judge on Thursday shot down former sheriff Joe Arpaio’s bid to sweep his criminal record clean.

Arpaio, the controversial former lawman in Arizona’s Maricopa County, was granted a pardon by President Trump on Aug. 25. He had been found guilty of criminal contempt of a federal court order after a five-day bench trial earlier this year and faced the possibility of up to six months in jail. After the pardon, the 85-year-old Arpaio petitioned the court to clear his record and prevent the ruling from being used in future litigation.

The case raised the novel question of how far a presidential pardon actually reaches.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton said the pardon only freed Arpaio from possible punishment. In a four-page order offering a check on the president’s executive power, Bolton wrote that a pardon could not erase the facts of the case. (Read more from “Federal Judge Refuses to Erase Joe Arpaio’s Conviction Despite Trump Pardon” HERE)

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Joe Arpaio Saga Isn’t Over: Judge Trying to Defy President’s Pardon?

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[U.S. District Court Judge Susan] Bolton on Tuesday stopped short of throwing out the conviction based solely on [Sheriff Joe] Arpaio’s request. Instead she ordered Arpaio and the U.S. Department of Justice, which is prosecuting the case, to file briefs on why she should or shouldn’t grant Arpaio’s request.

Arpaio’s attorneys asked Bolton on Monday to vacate Arpaio’s conviction in light of President Donald Trump’s Friday pardon. . .

Mark Goldman, one of Arpaio’s attorneys, said, “We look forward to the hearing, and hope that the court will make the appropriate ruling. The verdict should have been set aside by the court already and prior to the pardon for the reason that it was never delivered to Sheriff Arpaio in open court, but instead sent to his attorneys via email, thus violating his constitutional rights to a public trial and to participate in his trial” . . .

Arpaio’s attorneys on Monday also called on media companies that have inaccurately reported the nature of Arpaio’s criminal conviction to issue corrections “in a manner comparable to that of the original publication.” In a statement, his attorneys noted the ex-sheriff “was not convicted for ‘racial profiling,’ ” noting the conviction “had nothing to do with race.”

“It’s not just TV, it’s elected officials,” Arpaio told The Arizona Republic Monday. “You’ve got one guy here … calling me a racist, calling the president a racist. You’ve got others saying I was charged of racial profiling. That’s untrue … and my lawyer is concerned with these derogatory, slanderous statements that are going around.” (Read more from “Joe Arpaio Saga Isn’t Over: Judge to Decide If His Conviction Stands” HERE)

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Tough Phoenix Sheriff May Have New Foe: George Soros

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Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America who could face criminal charges for ignoring a judge’s order to stop targeting Latinos in anti-immigration roundups, may now have a new foe as he seeks re-election – George Soros, the billionaire liberal hedge fund tycoon.

The Republican sheriff already was battered politically and support for him had been slipping when a group linked to Soros mounted an anti-Arpaio attack in an attempt to weaken his bid for a seventh straight term.

The group started sending fliers to Phoenix-area voters two weeks ago, and a mailing last week accuses Arpaio of separating a mother from her child because of an unpaid traffic ticket, botching hundreds of sex crimes investigations and scaring immigrants so much that that they don’t report crime. (Read more from “Tough Phoenix Sheriff May Have New Foe: George Soros” HERE)

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‘We’re Ready for Battle’: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Arms Officers With AR-15-Style Rifles After Comrade Was Killed in Driveway (+video)

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PHOENIX (TheBlaze/AP) — A detention officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office died Thursday after being shot in the driveway of his Arizona home while he prepared to head to work. Now, all officers in the department are being armed with rifles by the direction of Sheriff Joe Arpaio for added protection.

Jorge Vargas, 27, was rushed to a hospital after the 4 a.m. attack and died a short time later, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said.

No one was in custody yet and there was no information on a motive.

“It’s really a whodunit,” Crump said, adding that investigators are looking into whether the shooting was connected to the victim’s job.

“Anytime we have a homicide and the suspect is unknown, we start with our victim,” Crump said. “But we can’t rule out a random act.”

Read more from this story HERE.