The Arizona-based Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group described as anti-democratic by domestic extremism researchers, is elevating some of its most controversial members — including those with direct ties to other anti-govern...
By Isaac Stone Simonelli Arizona Center For Investigative Reporting ties to other anti-government and white nationalism movements — into formal leadership positions.
The so-called “constitutional sheriff” organization, which has consistently pushed back on allegations of having racist ties, is best known for its controversial legal theories about a sheriff’s power to override the authority of state and federal government, including a duty to nullify laws they interpret as unconstitutional.
Domestic extremism researchers warn that such trainings are filled with misinformation designed to radicalize attendees, and that any relationships between officers and white supremacist or far-right militant groups undermine public trust in law enforcement. In Arizona, a previous AZCIR investigation revealed that more than half of the state’s 15 county sheriffs are at least partially aligned with some of the primary ideologies of the so-called “constitutional sheriff” movement, with at least four of them having direct ties to either CSPOA or another Arizona-based “constitutional sheriff” group, Protect America Now.
“People become law enforcement officers and their very specific duty is to enforce the laws, not to make laws, not to litigate laws, not to determine what they think is a real legitimate law versus an illegitimate law that has already been determined under the Constitution,” said Rachel Goldwasser, a research analyst for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Additionally, Bushman’s personal show, Liberty Roundtable, has provided a platform to a range of anti-government figures, including Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes the night before the Jan 6. insurrection. In November, Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other offenses in connection with the storming of the Capitol — a sentencing Bushman and Mack both railed against.
The most important name on the list of advisory board members, however, is Peroutka, according to Devin Burghart, president and executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, an organization that tracks far-right movements. During the show, Peroutka shared his vision of a situation in which the training he and CSPOA provide to sheriffs and deputies could then be adapted by those agencies to educate county residents in broader efforts to “raise the level of constitutional understanding” among citizens.
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