Texas ‘Constitutional’ Sheriff Movement Poses Rising Challenge to Federal, State Law
The group believes that sheriffs, within their counties, are more powerful than any state or federal authority, and can refuse to enforce laws they believe violate the U.S. Constitution.
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The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, founded and run by Richard Mack, has been labeled an anti-government extremist group by the Anti-Defamation League and is now pushing its sheriffs to investigate the 2020 election, reports Maurice Chammah for the Marshall Project and USA Today. The group believes that sheriffs, within their counties, are more powerful than any state or federal authority, and that they can resist “tyranny” by refusing to enforce laws they believe violate the U.S. Constitution.
Since founding the group in 2011, Mack estimates it has trained at least 800 sheriffs. Agencies in several states, including Texas and Virginia, have allowed officers to use these events for professional education credits. One of his sheriff allies is facing a state investigation over his role in seizing a voting tabulator, while others are talking about boosting surveillance during future elections, raising concerns that they will try to intimidate voters. While a survey found that only a handful of sheriff’s nationally claimed membership in Mack’s group, more than 200 (nearly half of the respondents) agreed with his philosophy and over 300 said they are willing to place themselves between a higher government authority and their constituents.
