clarke DA cop

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pension?

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vxr, big lie, gubmint

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11 24 TRUE THE VOTE DROPBOX bs CLAIMS WISC SHERIFF ?

cmd

...Daniel Knodl holds the distinction of being the most prolific sponsor of far-right anti-human rights legislation included in this report. Knodl’s 31 bills cut across multiple issue areas, including 13 COVID Denial/Vaccines bills, eight voter suppression bills, three each anti-abortion rights and anti-protest bills, and two each anti-LGBTQIA and anti-CRT bills. (Appendix B)

The multi-issue character of Knodl’s bill sponsorship mirrors the focus of the three Facebook groups he is known to have joined. In 2019, Knodl joined Wisconsin Patriot EVENTS List (517 members). In 2020, he joined the WI/IL Convention of the States Supporters (176 members), and in 2021, he joined No Left Turn in Education-Wisconsin (1,252 members).

The WI/IL Convention of the States Supporters is linked to the Convention of the States, a group founded by former Tea Party Patriots leader Mark Meckler–a national leader in the effort to host a far-right Article V Constitutional Convention to amend the U.S. Constitution. While the group offers little information on the specific amendments it seeks to pass, save for term limits, any such convention would likely devolve into a free-for-all built around re-making the Constitution in the image of Tea Party-style politics.

Similarly, Wisconsin Patriot EVENTS List has promoted a range of political messages. The group describes that it:

“Supports C.U.T. Wisconsin who is ProLife First and Foremost and are dedicated to preserving ProLife/ProFamily Ministries such as Q90 Christian Radio, Wisconsin’s Black Robe Regiment, A&A Alexandrina Center (Pro_Life Green Bay), 40 Days for Life, Many Many More.”

The group’s Administrators have also promoted COVID Denial, pro-Trump messages, and the work of anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Trevor Loudon. Administrator Pat Batemen is also a member of the Posse-Style group Constitutional Grassroots Movement and TEA Party United– Let’s Organize. Moderator Marlene Sobolik is a Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine member. And Moderator Scott Alan Buss is a member of STOP Illegal Immigration & Secure OUR Borders NOW! and the Second Amendment Alliance Foundation.

In the framework common in School-Centered far-right groups, No Left Turn in Education,the national parent of the group to which Knodl belongs, declared,

“Radical teachings motivated by a political agenda and deliberately spread by teachers, administrators, school board members, and even state officials have infiltrated schools across the nation. Unfortunately, all too often words such as diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, systemic racism, human rights education and health education concealed an aggressive, radical totalitarian ideology. From The 1619 Project, to Critical Race Theory, to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), the goal is to overturn our society by sowing divisiveness and hate. The social unrest that erupted in May 2020 provided the perfect cover for a complete assault and takeover of our educational system. Aided by the mainstream media, the teachers’ unions, together with an increasing number of educators and administrators have become the true schoolyard bullies, using taxpayer funds to indoctrinate their captive audience – our children.”

Befitting such an attack on “diversity, equity, [and] inclusion,” one board member of the No Left Turn national organization is David A. Clarke Jr., the former Milwaukee County Sheriff who called Black Lives Matter a “terrorist movement” and “hate group” and declared that they “will join forces with ISIS to being down our legal constituted republic.” In 2016, Clarke accepted a “Leadership Award” from the New York chapter of the Oath Keepers, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Standing before an Oath Keepers banner, Clarke told the crowd, “I’m one of those that believes that only a citizen uprising is going to allow we the people to resume our rightful place in this republic.”

As of 2015, Clarke was also a member of Richard Mack’s Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Clarke was named the group’s “Sheriff of the Year” in 2013.

To view the sources for these profiles, go here.

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see mack const sheriffs

Mack reached out to sheriffs via mailers and surveys, as well as individually. When Mack held a speaking event, he invited nearby sheriffs to attend. Mack was also vocal in praising sheriffs who took actions he approved of, calling them “constitutional sheriffs.” Soon, CSPOA began handing out the “Constitutional Sheriff of the Year” award; winners have included controversial Wisconsin sheriff David Clarke, Jr., who described Black Lives Matter as a hate group and claimed they would join with the terrorist group ISIS to destroy American society, as well as Nick Finch, a Florida sheriff who unlawfully released a man arrested for a firearms felony and was suspended by the governor. A Washington state sheriff, Bob Songer, received the award for refusing to enforce a state gun control initiative.

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2 pled guilty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Build_the_Wall

we Build the Wall is an organization soliciting donations to build private sections of the wall along the Mexico–U.S. border. It started as a GoFundMe campaign by United States Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage in December 2018.^[2] Kolfage announced the formation of a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization in January 2019.^[3] By mid-2020, over $25 million had been raised^[4][5] and a 3-mile (4.8 km) section of fence had been built.^[6]

Its advisory board includes politicians and activists with a hard-line stance on illegal immigration, including former secretary of state of Kansas Kris Kobach;^[7] former congressman Tom Tancredo;^[8] Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince; former Milwaukee sheriff David Clarke;^[9] and former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon,^[5][10] who is chairman of the board.^[11] On December 3, 2019, a Hidalgo County judge ordered the group to temporarily halt all construction due to its plans to build adjacent to the Rio Grande, which a lawyer for the National Butterfly Center argued would create a flooding risk. On January 9, 2020, a federal judge lifted the injunction, allowing construction to resume....

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no lnx

U.S.

Pro-Trump Former Sheriff Critiques Capitol Riot at QAnon Convention: 'It Has to Be Serious'

BY JASON LEMON ON 10/24/21

U.S.

DONALD TRUMP

SHERIFF

QANON

LAS VEGAS

Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke criticized the January 6 attack against the U.S. Capitol by a mob of pro-Trump supporters, lamenting that it wasn't "serious" enough during remarks at the QAnon-linked For God and Country Patriot Double Down in Las Vegas this weekend.

The right-wing convention brought together a lineup of QAnon believers, conspiracy theories and COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Clarke, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, spoke at the event and discussed the assault from nine months ago in Washington, D.C.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that was not an insurrection. If we decide to pull an insurrection, you're gonna know it. There's very little you're going to be able to do about it," the former sheriff told attendees, Raw Story reported.

Clarke described what happened on January 6 as a "frat party." He suggested that an insurrection needs to be better organized.

"The only thing I had against what happened at the Capitol on January 6, if you're going to pull a political movement, you've got to have three elements: It has to be serious, it's got to be well-planned and it's got to be disciplined," the former law enforcement officer said.

[David Clarke

Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke spoke at a QAnon-linked conference in Las Vegas this weekend, saying an insurrection should be "well-planned." In this photo, Clarks speaks as part of a panel discussion during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center February 23, 2017 in National Harbor, Maryland.]

Hundreds of Trump's supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6 in an apparent effort to prevent the formal certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. Some of the rioters were armed, and many expressed a desire to harm or kill top lawmakers—including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-Vice President Mike Pence.

Bill Maher Offers 'Dark Prediction' of 2024 Election, Suggests Capitol Riot Was a Warmup

QAnon Influencer Says He's 'Digital Rosa Parks' at Conspiracy Convention

Pro-Trump Event Aiming for 10,000 Attendees Sees Less Than 1,000 on 1st Day

Full List of Republican Politicians Attending QAnon Convention in Las Vegas

Steve Bannon's 1/5 Comments Resurface as Pelosi Says He Should Be Jailed Over Subpoena Refusal

===

Milwaukee sheriff David Clarke

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Clarke_(sheriff)

david Alexander Clarke Jr. (born August 21, 1956) is an American former law enforcement official who served as Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, from 2002 to 2017.

In 2002, Clarke was appointed to the position by Republican Governor Scott McCallum and later elected that same year to his first four-year term. He was reelected in November 2006, 2010 and 2014. Although Clarke declared himself as Democrat after his appointment as sheriff and ran as a Democrat in a heavily Democratic county, many of Clarke's political views align with those of conservative Republicans; he refused to join the Wisconsin Democratic Party, instead promoting conservative views, and allying himself with Republican officials.

As sheriff, Clarke frequently clashed with other Milwaukee County officials over the budget and other matters, and came under scrutiny for deaths and alleged mistreatment of jail inmates. One man died of thirst in what a coroner ruled was a homicide, and pregnant women were handcuffed and shackled while undergoing labor. Clarke frequently appeared as a guest on Fox News through February 2018 and was a speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention.He resigned as sheriff in August 2017. A vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, Clarke garnered attention for controversial and sometimes inflammatory social-media posts, and was considered for a role in the Trump administration. After resigning as sheriff, Clarke joined thepro-Trump super PAC America First Actionas a spokesman and senior advisor; he left the group in 2019.

Early life, education, and early career

Clarke was born in Milwaukee, one of five children of Jeri and David Clarke Sr.^[1] His father was a paratrooper with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company. His uncle was NFL player Frank Clarke, whom he idolized.^[2]

Clarke Jr. attended Marquette University High School where he played for the varsity basketball team.^[1] After finishing high school, Clarke took classes at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee but dropped out during his first year when he got a job driving beer trucks.^[1]

His career in law enforcement began in 1978 at the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). He "rose through the ranks at a slow but steady pace in his 24 years with the department." Clarke was a patrol officer for eleven years and then a homicide detective; he was promoted to lieutenant of detectives in 1993 and captain in 1999.^[1]

Clarke's career was not without controversy; in 1994, the mother of a 15-year-old boy filed a complaint alleging that Clarke used excessive force when arresting her son. According to public documents, Clarke was returning from a vacation when he spotted five teenagers heaving rocks at passing cars. Clarke chased down the teens, drew his service revolver and ordered them to lie on the ground. He admitted to using his foot to turn one boy over as he searched for weapons. The boy's mother claimed Clarke put a gun to her son's head and kicked him in the side, causing bruised ribs that required medical attention. However, the Fire and Police Commission ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Clarke and dismissed the case.^[1]

In 1999, Clarke received a B.A. in Management of Criminal Justice from Concordia University Wisconsin's School of Adult and Continuing Education.^[3] In January 2002, Milwaukee County Sheriff Leverett F. Baldwin resigned midway through his term to take a pension payout. Clarke was one of ten applicants for the position, and Governor Scott McCallum appointed him on March 19, 2002.^[1] He was elected to a full term later in 2002, and was reelected in 2006, 2010, and 2014.^[4]

Master's thesis plagiarism

In 2013, Clarke received a master's degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). In May 2017, CNN reported that Clarke had plagiarized portions of the thesis he completed as part of the requirements for this degree, stating that in the thesis, "Clarke failed to properly attribute his sources at least 47 times."^[5] The thesis ("Making U.S. security and privacy rights compatible")^[6] was found to have lifted material verbatim from several sources without proper citation, including reports by the American Civil Liberties Union, The 9/11 Commission Report, and George W. Bush's memoir Decision Points. Clarke provided footnotes to sources that he used, but did not properly place quotations around verbatim words of his sources, which is an act of plagiarism according to the NPS.^[5] Following the report, the NPS removed the thesis from its online archive.^[7] In response to the report, Clarke called journalist**Andrew Kaczynski**, who broke the story, a "sleaze bag" and denied that he had plagiarized.^[8]

In a July 2017 letter to Clarke, NPS dean of students, Commander Paul Rasmussen, wrote that he concurred with the Honor Code Board that Clarke's thesis was "in violation" of the school's honor code but that the "violation was not a result of any intentional deception or misappropriation efforts." Rasmussen instructed Clarke to submit a revised thesis within 100 days or NPS would "initiate degree revocation."^[9] Clarke received several extensions on the original deadline before submitting his revised thesis in March 2018; NPS officials informed Clarke that his edits were satisfactory, and allowed him to retain his degree.^[10]

Political views

Clarke has "built a following among conservatives with his provocative social media presence and strong support of Donald Trump."^[11] His prominence as a right-wing firebrand has made him a controversial and polarizing figure.^[12][13][14]

Planned Parenthood

He has criticized Planned Parenthood, suggesting instead that it be renamed "Planned Genocide."^[15][16]

Comments on race

In 2015, Clarke received criticism for his statement on his podcast: "Let me tell you why blacks sell drugs and involve themselves in criminal behavior instead of a more socially acceptable lifestyle: because they're uneducated, they're lazy and they're morally bankrupt. That's why."^[17]

In 2017, Clarke attracted attention and criticism for trading racial insults with Marc Lamont Hill, an African-American CNN commentator; on Twitter, Clarke used a racial slur ("jigaboo") to insult Hill.^[18][19][20]

Black Lives Matter

Clarke is a frequent and vociferous critic of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, referring to it as "Black Lies Matter" and describing the movement as a hate group.^[21][22] Clarke denies that police officers are more willing to shoot black suspects than white suspects, has labeled BLM activists "subhuman creeps", and has called for the targeted eradication of the movement "from American society."^[22] He has also claimed that Black Lives Matter would eventually join forces with ISIS in order to destroy American society.^[23] He has urged the Southern Poverty Law Center to include BLM among the hate groups it monitors.^[24] Clarke has blamed "liberal policies" for rioting and other issues in American cities.^[25] Clarke's stance on the movement has been criticized by the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP and other activists.^[22]

Clarke has harshly criticized various black critics of police abuses.^[26] He has called former Attorney General Eric Holder an "a[ss]hole" and accused him in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee of "outright hostility" toward police, referred to Al Sharpton as a "charlatan" and criticized Beyoncé for her reference to the Black Panthers in her halftime-show performance at the 2016 Super Bowl.^[26]

Gun control

In January 2013, Clarke was featured on a series of public radio ads that said citizens could no longer rely on the police for timely protection and should arm themselves. Later that month, Clarke appeared on the CNN program Piers Morgan Live, with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who "said it was irresponsible of Clarke to 'basically imply' that it won't help citizens to call 911 when they need help."^[27]

In 2015, Clarke traveled to Moscow on a $40,000 trip, with all expenses paid by the NRA, Pete Brownell (an NRA board member and CEO of a gun-parts supply company) and "The Right to Bear Arms," a Russian pro-firearms organization, founded by Maria Butina, a Russian national, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to being an unregistered Russian agent.^{[28][29][30][31]} During the meeting, Clarke met the Russian foreign minister and attended a conference at which Russian official Aleksander Torshin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, spoke.^[30][31]

In 2018, Clarke attracted attention for using Twitter to promote a conspiracy theory about the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida; Clarke tweeted that "The well ORGANIZED effort by Florida school students demanding gun control has GEORGE SOROS' FINGERPRINTS all over it", suggesting that the students from Parkland were being manipulated by Soros to organize for gun control.^[32][33][34]

Suspension of habeas corpus in the United States

Clarke has called for the :{suspension of habeas corpus}: in the United States in a December 2015 appearance on his radio program, where he asserted that there were "hundreds of thousands" or "maybe a million" people who "have pledged allegiance or are supporting ISIS, giving aid and comfort," and stated that "our commander in chief ought to utilize Article I, Section 9" to imprison them at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp "and hold them indefinitely under a suspension of habeas corpus."^[35][36]

Ideology and relationships with Republican and Democratic parties

[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Clarke_%2825512292092%29.jpg)

Clarke holding up a copy of the United States Constitution

After his appointment to the sheriff's post by McCallum, Clarke declared himself as Democrat, but refused to join the Wisconsin Democratic Party, instead promoting conservative views,^[37][38][39] and allying himself with Republican officials.^[39] Clarke ran for sheriff as a Democrat, which is advantageous in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County. However, Clarke is almost universally regarded as a staunch right-wing conservative.^[40][41] Clarke frequently criticizes Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and other Democrats; often speaks at Republican events, and is allies with the National Rifle Association, which has raised funds for his re-election campaigns.^[40] Clarke has in turn been criticized by the local Democratic Party.^[42] On his website in 2014, Clarke stated that he questioned "why the Office of Sheriff is a partisan election" and wrote: "I have never asked a person to vote for me because I run as a Democrat. I ask them to vote for me based on my 35-year commitment to keeping citizens safe. Most voters get it when it comes to public safety. There is no Democrat or Republican way to be a sheriff. The enemy is not the opposing party; the enemy is the criminal."^[43][44]

In 2016, Maurice Chammah of The Marshall Project characterized Clarke as an "iconoclastic sheriff," one of "a long line of controversy-courting lawmen" that includes Richard Mack and Joe Arpaio in Arizona.^[45] Clarke attracted attention for "dalliances with the far right" over time including his acceptance in 2013 of the "Sheriff of the Year Award" from the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group of sheriffs founded by Mack that has been criticized by the Southern Poverty Law Center for espousing radical-right views.^[46] Earlier the same year, Clarke appeared for an interview on the syndicated show of Alex Jones.^[46]

Sheriff of Milwaukee

Budget and clashes with the Government of Milwaukee County

Clarke has often clashed with the county government over the sheriff's office budget, engaging "in a long-running, high-profile tiff" over the issue with Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, "with Clarke providing the more incendiary rhetoric." Abele's proposed budget for 2014 would cut $12 million from the Sheriff's Office budget, eliminating 69 jobs and "shifting park patrols, emergency management, 911 communications and training divisions" to other entities, such as the Milwaukee Police Department, suburban police departments, and the county Department of Emergency Preparedness. Abele described the budget as a way to refocus the sheriff's office on "core, mandated services." Clarke issued a statement calling Abele a "vindictive little man" and saying that "Abele should be drug-tested. He has to be on heroin or hallucinating with that statement." Abele responded by saying that it was "unfortunate the sheriff, instead of engaging in thoughtful civil discourse, is making personal attacks and making light of a serious problem in our community and state."^[47]

On another occasion, Clarke said that Abele had "penis envy."^[42]

In 2015, Clarke clashed with Abele again after Clarke filed a lawsuit against the county over the sheriff's budget, seeking $25 million in funds to hire 75 deputies, 43 House of Corrections officers and 17 supervisors. Clarke argued that his office is underfunded by the county, while Abele noted that the sheriff's office had received the largest increase of any county department and criticized Clarke for having what he termed "a very heavy command staff," "a lot of unnecessary overtime," and redundancies in courthouse security.^[48] Clarke sued Abele, alleging that he had violated Clarke's right to free speech through the budget process; a federal judge dismissed Clarke's suit in April 2016.^[49]

A county audit released in 2012 showed that the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office used asset forfeiture funds to buy exercise equipment for Clarke's command staff, for a Disney training, and for a mounted patrol unit. The audit reported that the spending violated county procurement rules, although not federal rules on the use of seized money. Clarke was criticized for the amount of money spent on the mounted patrol by County Supervisor Patricia Jursik; Clarke defended the office's use of the funds.^[50]

According to an Associated Press tally, from 2012 to April 2016, Clarke had incurred more than $310,000 in legal fees for his private attorney, who represented him in litigation against Milwaukee County.^[49] Milwaukee County taxpayers paid the legal fees.^[49] The county spent an additional $83,000 defending itself against Clarke's lawsuits.^[49]

In 2012, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office under Clarke spent $75,000 on an order of 565 new Glock handguns with "glow-in-the-dark" sights, "enough to outfit each of the department's 275 deputies with two of the popular guns and still have some left over."^[51] The order was criticized as excessive by critics, including county Supervisor John Weishan Jr. (who said there "was absolutely no reason to justify" the purchase) and the Milwaukee County Deputy Sheriffs Association president (who said that he would have preferred the sheriff's department to use funds to re-hire laid-off deputies rather than to replace weapons).^[51] Clarke declined to comment, but a department official defended the purchase.^[51]

Potential mayoral run

In January 2014, Clarke announced he was considering a run for mayor of Milwaukee in 2016,^[52] but ultimately decided not to run,^[53] instead endorsing Republican Alderman Bob Donovan's unsuccessful bid to unseat Mayor Tom Barrett.^[54][55]

House of Correction and detainee abuse controversies

In January 2008, a National Institute of Corrections audit of the Milwaukee County House of Correction in Franklin identified 44 areas of concern, calling the House of Correction "dysfunctional" and determining that it suffered from "serious security, staff morale and management flaws." The House of Corrections was at the time a separate Milwaukee County department overseen by a superintendent who reported to then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. Walker and the County Board transferred control over the House to the Sheriff's Department under Clarke on January 1, 2009.^[50]

Clarke was repeatedly accused of abusing detainees at the county jail.^[56] Following the deaths of four inmates at the jail in six months, the United States Department of Justice launched an investigation of the jail.^[56] Milwaukee County chief medical examiner Brian Peterson accused Clarke of verbally harassing and threatening him in an October 2016 telephone conversation after Peterson's office made the mysterious deaths of two inmates at the jail earlier that year public.^[56][57] According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke also attracted attention for temper-related incidents: "He once berated a 911 dispatcher for not being professional, threatened to arrest the new House of Correction chief and called a sergeant a 'terrorist' and 'cancer' in a two-hour, expletive-filled rant".^[57]

Death of Terrill Thomas

The Milwaukee County Jail turned the water off to inmate Terrill Thomas's cell, resulting in his death by dehydration on April 24, 2016. According to inmates, the water was turned off for six days and the staff refused to provide water to Thomas. On September 15, 2016, the Milwaukee medical examiner ruled Thomas's death a homicide.^[58] Later that day Clarke's office sent out a press release which stated it would be "withholding employee internal investigations and will not be commenting on this matter until the completion of all investigative and review processes, and any resultant civil litigation."^[59][60] Clarke did not comment publicly on his agency's handling of Thomas's incarceration, but has highlighted Thomas's poor physical health and criminal history.^[61][62]

In May 2017, after hearing six days of testimony at an inquest, a Milwaukee County jury found probable cause that seven jail employees (two supervisors, five officers) had committed a crime—specifically, abuse of a resident of a penal facility—and recommended that charges be brought.^[63] In February 2018, three Milwaukee jail officers were charged with a felony in connection with Thomas's death.Clarke was not charged. District Attorney John T. Chisholm said "he believed his office had charged the people who were most culpable."^[64]

In May 2019, Milwaukee County and the health care company Armor Correctional Health Services Inc. settled the lawsuit for $6.75 million, which is one of the largest settlements related to the death of an inmate in an American prison.^[65]

Death of newborn and shackling of pregnant women

Clarke's department came under fire for its use of restraints on pregnant women inmates.^[66][67] This controversial practice has been abolished or restricted by at least ten states and has been prohibited by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections^[68] as well as by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.^[66]

In 2014, a woman who was handcuffed and shackled for 21 hours while in labor sued the county.^[66][68] In 2017, a second lawsuit was filed by another woman who was shackled while giving birth, and while hospitalized for prenatal care and postpartum treatment. The suit contends that the jail has a blanket policy of shackling all hospitalized inmates, "regardless of their criminal or medical history," and that at least 40 women were shackled in this manner.^[66]

In June 2017, a federal jury awarded $6.7 million in a lawsuit by a woman who accused a Milwaukee County Jail guard of raping her on at least five occasions when she was 19 years old and pregnant.^[69] Criminal charges of sexual assault had been dropped against the guard after he pled no contest to lesser charges in 2014.^[70]

In July 2016, a pregnant inmate at the jail with serious mental illness went into labor and the newborn baby died. The mother filed a federal lawsuit against the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, stating that she was denied medical attention before her pregnancy, had medical appointments canceled, received prenatal vitamins only once, and was "laughed at" by guards after going into labor.^[71] This death and others at the jail prompted calls for Clarke's resignation from a county supervisor and several Democratic state legislators.^[71]

Proselytism lawsuit

In 2006, Clarke invited members of an Evangelical Christian organization, the Fellowship of Christian Centurions, to speak at several mandatory employee meetings, at which the group members proselytized. Several deputies complained about the Centurions' proselytizing, but Clarke refused to stop the presentations. The sheriff deputies' union and two individual sheriff's deputies (a Catholic and a Muslim) successfully sued Clarke in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Clarke appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which upheld the lower court's ruling in 2009. The sheriff did not seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.^[72][73]

Airport harassment and abuse-of-power investigation and lawsuit

In February 2017, a Detroit-area man, Dan Black, filed a harassment lawsuit against Clarke after Milwaukee deputies detained the man at the Milwaukee airport in January. The man had asked Clarke about his football team preference and shook his head at Clarke.^[74] On the tarmac, Clarke sent text messages to one of his captains, Mark Witek, directing sheriffs' deputies to detain Black. Clarke wrote: "Question for him is why he said anything to me. Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut? Follow him to baggage and out the door. You can escort me to carousel after I point him out."^[75] After arriving at the airport, Black was "met by a group of six uniformed deputies and two dogs, all of whom were accompanied by the sheriff" who questioned him before releasing him.^[74] Airport surveillance video showed Black telling deputies: "He [Clarke] thinks because I asked who he is, he can exert that kind of power over me."^[76] Local media reported that "at least one of the deputies who was ordered to confront Black didn't believe he had been disruptive."^[76]

After Black filed a complaint with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Clarke responded by taunting and threatening Black via Facebook.^[77][74] Black's counsel states that Clarke engaged in a "gross and arbitrary abuse of power" and ordered an unlawful stop and detention.^[77] An ensuing civil lawsuit by Black resulted in 2018 in a verdict in Clarke's favor; the jury found that Clarke's Facebook posts did not chill Black's exercise of his First Amendment rights.^[78]

The incident drew national attention, prompting federal investigations to examine Clarke's conduct.^[75] In a May 2017 letter, the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to prosecute Clarke for federal civil-rights offenses, writing: "Our decision is not meant to affirm the wisdom or propriety of what occurred. It reflects only our belief that it would be difficult or impossible to prove a violation of the only federal statute available to us ... beyond a reasonable doubt."^[75]

Milwaukee County auditors launched an investigation into whether Clarke abused taxpayer resources during the airport incident.^[74] Clarke refused to cooperate with the investigation,^[75] and blocked auditors from interviewing Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies.^[74] Clarke's refusal to cooperate in the investigation prompted the Milwaukee County Board to authorize legal action against Clarke on the issue.^[74] An affidavit filed by the FBI in March 2017 (and made public in December 2017) indicated that "investigators for the Audit Services Division of the Milwaukee County controller's office determined as part of its own investigation that Clarke had 'used his official position as sheriff of Milwaukee County in excess of his lawful authority to direct his deputies to stop and question Black without legal justification.'"^[79]

Approval ratings

In a January 2017 poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, which surveyed Milwaukee County voters, 31% approved of the job Clarke was doing, compared to 62% who disapproved. In the same poll, 65% said they believed Clarke had a negative impact on the image of Milwaukee County, and among registered Democrats, 13% said they would vote for Clarke in a hypothetical Democratic primary, compared to 82% who would prefer another candidate.^[80]

Donald Trump support and possible role in Trump administration

Clarke at the 2016 Republican National Convention

Clarke at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference

Clarke is a strong supporter of Republican Donald Trump, saying during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign that he would "do everything I can" to help Trump win the presidency.^[81] Clarke spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.^[82] In October 2016, Clarke tweeted, "It's incredible that our institutions of gov, WH, Congress, DOJ, and big media are corrupt & all we do is bitch. Pitchforks and torches time." with an attached photo of an angry mob holding pitchforks and torches.^[83][84] Clarke met with Trump, when Trump was president-elect, about a possible position in his administration.^[85]

In May 2017, Clarke said in a radio interview that he would take the post of Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Partnership and Engagement in the Trump administration. The White House declined to comment, and the Department of Homeland Security stated that no appointment had been officially made. The position does not require Senate confirmation.^[11][86]

The DHS did not say whether the appointment was actually offered to Clarke.^[87] Following a CNN report on plagiarism in his master's thesis, Clarke said that he was unsure if the Trump administration would hire him.^[88]

The prospective appointment of Clarke was criticized by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele; former Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem; and California Senator Kamala Harris, who sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Harris wrote that "Clarke's unconscionable record makes him unfit to serve" and that the "appointment is a disgrace."^[86] On June 17, Clarke rescinded his acceptance of the post.^[89] John F. Kelly, who had been the Secretary of Homeland Security at the time, told Clarke that he would not be given a position at the DHS in part due to scandal surrounding the treatment of inmates in Clarke's jail and the ensuing negative media attention.^[90]

Conservative media commentary and absences from Milwaukee County

Clarke "has become a fixture of conservative media" and in 2015 began hosting a podcast talk show, David Clarke: The People's Sheriff, on Glenn Beck's TheBlaze Radio Network,^[26][91] where he has expressed support for the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.^[92] Clarke also frequently appeared as a guest on Fox News, and on one occasion inSeptember 2015 guest-hostedThe Sean Hannity Show.^[26] However, in March 2019, The Daily Beast reported that Clarke had essentially been banned from Fox News and that he had not appeared on Fox News since February 2018.^[93] He also appeared on CNN, Fox News, and other major news outlets to discuss ongoing police controversies.^[25]

Clarke's higher profile coincided with an increase in his speaking fees and time spent outside Milwaukee County on outside activities.^[94] In 2015 financial disclosure documents, Clarke reported receiving $150,000 in speaking fees, travel reimbursements, gifts and other items;^[94] in 2016, he received $220,000 worth of such items.^[95] Also in 2016, Clarke spent about 60 days traveling or attending events, 59 of them outside Wisconsin.^[95] Clarke's absences from the county, as well as redactions in his official schedule as provided to journalists who made public-records requests, led to "increasing scrutiny over his job performance" from local media outlets and criticism from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.^[96] Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has repeatedly criticized Clarke's absences from the county.^[95][97]

UPDATE 11 24 INSERT

Resignation as sheriff

On August 31, 2017, Clarke resigned his position.^[96][97] Following his abrupt resignation,^[98] he received pension payments of more than $100,000 a year from Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee.^[99]

Career post-resignation

A few days after his resignation as sheriff, it was announced that Clarke had joined pro-Donald Trump super PAC America First Action as a spokesman and senior advisor,^[100] where his role was to make regular appearances in the media, particularly on Fox News.^[101] The same year, Clarke published a book titled Cop Under Fire: Moving Beyond Hashtags of Race, Crime and Politics for a Better America,^[102][103] which Trump promoted on Twitter.^[104] America First Action paid Clarke's consulting firm, DAC Enterprises, almost $92,000 from September 2017 through July 2018, when the firm (a Maryland-based LLC) was dissolved.^[99][105]

By that point, Clarke had reportedly been banned from Fox News (his last appearance on a Fox channel occurring in February 2018); Clarke repeatedly criticized Fox and praised the right-wing One America News Network.^[101]

The cause of Clarke's break with Fox News was unclear, although Clarke's inflammatory Twitter posts and attacks on the high-school students victimized in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida may have played a role.^[101] In January 2018, Twitter temporarily suspended Clarke's account after he posted three messages appearing to encourage violence against the media, including a tweet reading "Punch them in the nose & MAKE THEM TASTE THEIR OWN BLOOD." Clarke was unblocked by Twitter after deleting the posts.^[106]

By early 2019, Clarke had also left his position with the Trump's America First Action super PAC; a Clarke staffer said that he had joined Brian Kolfage's and Steve Bannon's "We Build the Wall" group instead.^[101] Clarke was one of eight members of the group's advisory board,^[105] which consisted of prominent right-wing, pro-Trump figures.^[107] Clarke participated in fundraiser for the group and was listed on its website as "sheriff" (although he had in fact resigned from that office).^[105]

Bannon, a former Trump chief strategist, along with Kolfage and others, promoted the group's fundraising efforts, claiming to have a plan to construct a U.S.–Mexico border wall.^[105][108] The fundraising effort was later revealed to be a scam, Kolfage and two other co-founders were convicted of fraud, while Bannon was pardoned by Trump before trial.^[109] Clarke was not charged or named in the indictment.^[105][108]

After leaving Fox, Clarke continued his career as a right-wing commentator, making regular TV appearances.^[98] In 2018, Clarke was featured on Sacha Baron Cohen's spoof comedy series Who Is America?, being interviewed by Baron Cohen's alter-ego, far-right YouTuber OMGWhizzBoyOMG. Interviewed by Baron Cohen's persona, Clarke said that if he was a sheriff in 1930s Germany, he would not want to "take sides" between fascists and antifascists. ^[110][111]

In March 2020, Twitter deleted three of Clarke's posts for promoting disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.^[112] One of his tweets proclaimed that COVID-19 was "just the damn flu" while another called measures to prevent the spread of the virus "an orchestrated attempt to destroy capitalism".^[113] Clarke responded by labeling Twitter administrators "totalitarian bigots"^[114] and saying that he would join Parler instead.^[112][114] Also in March 2020, a day after a mass shooting at the Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin (in which eight people were injured), Clarke held a "MAGA rally" outside the mall.^[115]

In 2020, after Trump was defeated in his bid for re-election, Clarke embraced Trump's false claims of election fraud**.^[116] Days after Trump was defeated, Clarke headlined a Trump rally in Milwaukee, in which he called for the Proud Boys, a violent far-right group, to establish a chapter in Wisconsin.^[116][117]

In a speech at a QAnon conference in Las Vegas in March 2021, Clarke critiqued the January 6 attack (in which a pro-Trump mob invaded the Capitol and disrupted the counting of the electoral votes in a failed attempt to keep Trump in power); Clarke said that the attack was a "frat party" and that a future insurrection must be "serious", "well-planned", and "disciplined".^[118]

In 2021, Clarke launched a conservative advocacy nonprofit, Rise Up.^[98] in 2023, Clarke started a podcast, billing himself as "America's sheriff".^[98] The same year, he publicly mulled a potential run for U.S. Senate in 2024 for the seat currently held by Democrat Tammy Baldwin.^[115]

Persona

Clarke on horseback at the 2008 Milwaukee St. Patrick's Day parade

Clarke frequently appears at public events on horseback wearing a cowboy hat.^[41] While sheriff, Clarke often wore 20 or more pins and badges on his uniform when in public, many with no official meaning or purpose; this habit led to accusations of "stolen valor" (i.e., trying to create the image of heroic accomplishments).^[119][120]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of David Clarke

Personal life

Clarke married his wife Julie in 1996; she was a court clerk and later a real estate agent. They lived on the northwest side of Milwaukee. In 2018, Clarke filed for divorce from his wife.^[34] Clarke has no children.

In 2003, a profile in Milwaukee Magazine described Clarke as a "deeply religious" Catholic.^[2]

INSERT ENDIT

Resignation as sheriff

On August 31, 2017, Clarke resigned his position.^[98][99]

Career as media commentator after resignation

Clarke repeatedly criticized Fox and praised the right-wing One America News Network.^[101] The cause of Clarke's break with Fox News was unclear, although Clarke's inflammatory Twitter posts and attacks on the high-school students victimized in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida may have played a role.^[101] By early 2019, Clarke had also left his position with the Trump's America First Action super PAC; a Clarke staffer said that he had joined Brian Kolfage's and Steve Bannon's "We Build The Wall" group instead.^[101]

In 2017, Clarke published a book titled Cop Under Fire: Moving Beyond Hashtags of Race, Crime and Politics for a Better America.^[102][103] The book was promoted by Trump on Twitter.^[104]

In January 2018, Clarke was temporarily suspended by Twitter after posting three messages appearing to encourage violence against the media, including a tweet reading "Punch them in the nose & MAKE THEM TASTE THEIR OWN BLOOD." Clarke was unblocked by Twitter after deleting the posts.^[105][106]

Later in 2018, Clarke was featured on Sacha Baron Cohen's spoof comedy series Who Is America?, being interviewed by Baron Cohen's alter-ego, far-Right YouTuber OMGWhizzBoyOMG.

In March 2020, Twitter deleted three of Clarke's posts for promoting disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.^[107] One of his tweets proclaimed that COVID-19 was "just the damn flu" while another called measures to prevent the spread of the virus "an orchestrated attempt to destroy capitalism."^[108] Clarke responded by labeling Twitter administrators "totalitarian bigots"^[109] and saying that he would join Parler instead.^[107][109]

In August 2020, a report in Urban Milwaukee itemized Clarke's role since 2019 in Steve Bannon and Brian Kolfage's We Build the Wall scam, as an active member and a central figure in many of its fundraising efforts.^[110]

Persona

Clarke on horseback at the 2008 Milwaukee St. Patrick's Day parade

Clarke frequently appears at public events on horseback wearing a cowboy hat.[[42]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Clarke_%28sheriff%29#cite_note-Kaiser-43) He often wore 20 or more pins and badges on his uniform when in public, many not of official meaning or purpose, leading to accusations of "stolen valor" (i.e., trying to create the image of heroic accomplishments).^[111][112]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of David Clarke

Personal life

Clarke married his wife Julie in 1996; she was a court clerk and later a real estate agent. They lived on the northwest side of Milwaukee. In 2018, Clarke filed for divorce from his wife.^[34]

He is said to be a "deeply religious" Catholic.^[113]

Notes

^ Clarke served as the Sheriff of Milwaukee from 2002 to 2017 as a Democrat.

===

john doe

https://www.wisconsingazette.com/tag/eric-okeefe/

Scott Walker backers set on ousting DA John Chisholm

April 29, 2016Wisconsin Gazette

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm may soon appeal the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that ended the five-county “John Doe” criminal investigation into whether Gov, Scott Walker illegally coordinated with supposedly “independent” dark money groups during the 2011–2012 recall elections to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As prosecutors ready their case, the secret money advocates at the heart of the investigation are planning their next move.

Dark money maestro Eric O’Keefe, who sits on the board of Wisconsin Club for Growth, has declared that Chisholm “is not fit for public office” and “should not be allowed to serve out his term.” He has threatened to get him disbarred, and he has tried to get Walker to fire him.

O’Keefe’s high-powered, D.C. lawyers are suing Chisholm in federal court on behalf of Cindy Archer. She claims to be a victim of a renegade prosecutor. But she was a top Walker aide caught up in Chisolm’s investigation of a sordid bid-rigging scheme detailed by the Center for Media and Democracy.

Now O’Keefe and his associates appear to be prepping to go after Chisholm in a low-turnout primary, using the new, relaxed electoral laws they worked so hard to pass in Wisconsin. They’re also expected to unleash a flood of coordinated secret money and phony “issue” ads.

Scott Walker John Doe headed to divided SCOTUS

In July 2015, the Wisconsin Supreme Courtnot only shut down the investigation of potentially illegal coordination between Walker and dark money groups, they took the extraordinary measures of firing the Republican special prosecutor, who was hired to coordinate efforts at the behest of a bipartisan group of five District Attorneys. They threw up roadblocks to any appeal by, for instance, telling prosecutors they could not use expert, outside counsel to help with the filing.

Those actions were unprecedented and reminded many of the Saturday Night Massacre, when Richard Nixon fired U.S. Attorney General Archibald Cox and his successors during the Watergate investigations.

“My career in the military and as a federal prosecutor fighting violent criminals and terrorists did not fully prepare me for the tactics employed by these special interest groups,” said special prosecutor Francis Schmitz.

“To somehow remove the lawyer representing one of the parties after the opinion (has been issued) is extraordinary,” said former state Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske.

The GOP-controlled legislature took action in 2015 to retroactively decriminalize the activities at the heart of the investigation. They made significant changes to Wisconsin’s campaign finance law, exempting political corruption from the John Doe statute and dismantling the nonpartisan Wisconsin elections board.

Now the three Democratic prosecutors are slated to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state Supreme Court ruling. At issue is the $10 million spent to elect the conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court by the very same groups — Wisconsin Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce — that were under investigation in the John Doe probe.

According to the 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Caperton v. Massey, outsized spending in a judicial election could be significant enough to demand that judges recuse themselves. Schmitz asked both Justice David Prosser and Justice Michael Gableman to recuse themselves from the John Doe, but they refused. Furthermore, they offered no explanation for their refusal.

It’s unknown whether prosecutors will also appeal on the merits of the case. It is notable that coordination between independent groups and candidates is prohibited in most states and at the federal level. In 2016, a state legislator in Montana was convicted of breaking state law after engaging in similar coordination and, in 2015, a political operative working on a federal campaign was sentenced to 24 months in prison after being prosecuted under federal law.

Common Cause’s Jay Heck tells CMD that it makes sense that O’Keefe would go after Chisholm this election cycle. “The dark money groups want to protect the gains they have made in Wisconsin, changing the law to allow coordination between candidates and issue-ad groups. They want to stop an appeal before it goes any further.”

The prosecutors’ appeal is sure to have Wisconsin’s far-right yelling “partisan witch hunt” again. Yet, the reality is that Milwaukee DA John Chisholm has a long record of prosecuting Democrats for political corruption.

In 2010, Chisholm used the John Doe process to prosecute Democratic Milwaukee County Supervisor Toni Clark on felony charges related to the use of just $6,300 in campaign funds. Scott Walker didn’t call that a witch hunt; instead he said the case was “a reminder to all others in office that we must maintain the highest ethical standards.”

Dark money advocates take aim at John Chisholm in re-election race

Chisholm announced on April 18 that he would run for re-election. The primary is Aug. 9.

John Chisholm’s Democratic primary challenger is Verona Swanigan, an attorney and Milwaukee native who is new to electoral politics. Swanigan holds a law degree from Northern Illinois University (2005), and has practiced law independently with her own firm, Swanigan Legal Services, for about a decade. She registered her campaign in August 2015, and released a video announcing her candidacy in November that focused on reducing crime and addressing domestic violence.

Swanigan is an African American who has participated in community rallies calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate police brutality. She calls herself a “conservative Democrat,” but her campaign is backed by the well-known GOP political operative Craig Peterson, who has worked closely with Wisconsin Club for Growth’s Eric O’Keefe on efforts to reshape Milwaukee politics in recent years.

According to news reports, Peterson has long been associated with Zigman Joseph Stephenson, a public relations firm, but has had financial troubles in recent years. Peterson has ties to former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, who was caught up in the “caucus scandal,” an earlier John Doe prosecution of campaign finance abuses, and who now works for big money groups trying to privatize public schools.

Peterson had reported $250 in monetary contributions and $1,681 worth of in-kind contributions to Swanigan’s campaign as of Dec. 31, 2015, a substantial part of the campaign’s $5,476 total take for the year. (Reports covering the first part of 2016 are not yet available.)

Earlier this spring, Peterson spearheaded an effort to reshape Milwaukee’s city government through a secretive group called “Milwaukeeans for Self-Governance,” which spent at least $200,000 on radio ads to influence mayoral and aldermanic races. The group, whose name strongly echoes that of the O’Keefe group “Citizens for Self-Governance,” has not been formally registered, and its funders have not been disclosed, but their impact is being felt.

“It really feels like we’re running against him, and not his so-called candidates,” Ald. Bob Bauman, a veteran Common Council member told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Bauman’s opponent, who lost her race, was Peterson associate Monique Kelly, formerly known as Monique Taylor.

Using racial justice issues to advance a tea party candidate

In the 2014 Milwaukee County Sheriff’s race, a liberal dark money group spent big trying to unseat incumbent Sheriff David Clarke Jr. Clarke is a right-winger, a darling of Fox News and a Democrat in name only. The National Rifle Association rushed to his aid, and influential right-wing radio hosts urged Republicans in the county to turn out in the open Democratic primary.

Another unregistered Peterson group calling itself “Citizens for Urban Justice” also came to his aid, running radio ads attacking his opponent. In the ads, Monique Taylor presented herself as a community activist and listed the names of African-American men killed by Milwaukee police. “Now a lieutenant in that same police department wants to be our sheriff,” she said.

The ads had a big impact in the city’s predominantly African-American wards.

But Clarke, who is African-American, is famous for attacking the Black Lives Matter movement, which he has called “black slime.” He has never addressed police violence.

While he has been vague about the funding behind Milwaukeeans for Self-Governance and the city council takeover,Peterson has previously credited O’Keefe with arranging the funds to support Clarke. “Eric raised money for that campaign,” Peterson told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “And I spent the money. That’s another benefit to our relationship: He’s good at raising it. I’m good at spending it.”

Peterson also worked with the Wisconsin chapter of David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity and Citizens for Responsible Government in an attempt to rally support against a modern streetcar project under development in Milwaukee. Instead of telling folks the truth — that the Kochs object to any type of clean energy transportation, including trolleys and electric cars — the Peterson crew slammed the trolleys for furthering segregation. Peterson paid for radio ads featuring the brother of police shooting victim Dontre Hamilton urging listeners to send Mayor Barrett and John Chisholm a message by writing letters opposing the streetcar.

While the ads stated they were “Paid for the Black Lives Matter Coalition,” Peterson paid for them himself, according to Urban Milwaukee.

With big money friends like O’Keefe and the Kochs, who are trying to turn secret election spending by wealthy special-interest groups into a principled fight for “constitutionally protected free speech,” Peterson is well positioned to unleash a tidal wave of phony “issue ads” at the last minute to sway a low-turnout election. In the August 2014 Milwaukee Democratic primary, less than 114,000 people voted. That compares with the 332,000 who voted in the November general election.

Stay tuned.

Jessica Mason contributed to this report. Learn more about Eric O’Keefe in the Progressive “Dark Money’s Front Man” and in Sourcewatch.

campaign finance caucus scandal Cindy Archer Craig Peterson dark money Eric O'Keefe illegal coordination John Chisholm John Doe Kochs Milwaukee D A political advertising Scott Walker Verona Swanigan wisconsin club for growth Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce

===

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/david-clarke-era-milwaukee-sheriff/567595/

the end of

no lnx

aUGUST 15, 2018

Remember David Clarke? He became a national celebrity for his support of Donald Trump during the 2016 election, speaking at the Republican National Convention and delivering often inflammatory remarks on the campaign trail.

But as Clarke’s large array of badges and oversize hat were intended to remind, he was first and foremost a lawman—the sheriff of Milwaukee County, in office since 2002. In that position, Clarke was a prominent advocate for giving law enforcement wide latitude, and he fiercely criticized criminal-justice reform and scrutiny of the police. These stands were notable because he is African American and a registered Democrat. It was a partly self-interested stand: Clarke was himself under scrutiny for his management of the sheriff’s department, and especially for the multiple deaths in the county jails he ran.

David Clarke was almost part of the Department of Homeland Security

Clarke left office in 2017 with the promise of a job in the Trump administration that never actually materialized. (He later joined a pro-Trump political-action committee.) On Tuesday, however, the police-reform movement won a victory over Clarke’s legacy in the county, turning out his successor and former deputy in the Democratic primary for sheriff. Earnell Lucas won roughly 57 percent of the vote, handily defeating Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt, who took 34 percent. (A third candidate finished far back.)

Schmidt is a career officer in the sheriff’s department, rising through the ranks to become Clarke’s No. 2 in 2010; he became acting sheriff upon Clarke’s resignation. And it was Clarke that dragged him down in the race. All three candidates said they wanted to move beyond the Clarke era, but Schmidt was unable to effectively separate himself from his former boss.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “In his campaign, Schmidt emphasized the dozen or more changes he made at the agency since Clarke’s departure, from balancing the budget and going after reckless drivers on freeways to reforming jail operations after several custody deaths during Clarke’s tenure.”

But activist groups hammered Schmidt for his role in the Clarke administration, during which he had oversight of jails, and for his cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lucas, a former Milwaukee police officer who is a top security officer for Major League Baseball, won endorsements from Senator Tammy Baldwin and Mayor Tom Barrett, both Democrats, and progressive groups including the Working Families Party. Schmidt had the backing—and substantial financial support—of Democratic County Executive Chris Abele. Although Tuesday’s election was a primary, Lucas is almost certain to win the general election.

Schmidt is the latest sitting sheriff to lose his reelection bid this year, which is unusual because the average U.S. sheriff serves 24 years in office. These elections seem to be part of a grassroots push for criminal-justice reform at the local ballot box. In two big North Carolina counties, Mecklenburg (home to Charlotte) and Durham, voters in May decided to toss sitting sheriffs in favor of challengers. In these cases, as in Milwaukee, jail conditions and cooperation with federal immigration authorities became central weaknesses for the incumbents.

How law-enforcement reformers are concentrating efforts at the local

level

Voters have also kicked out sitting prosecutors in favor of reformists. Earlier this month, Robert McCulloch, the prosecutor in St. Louis County, Missouri, lost a primary to Wesley Bell. McCulloch attracted national notoriety for his approach to prosecuting Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. In May, in Durham County, an incumbent district attorney lost to the progressive challenger Satana Deberry. In 2017, in the most high-profile illustration of the trend, Philadelphia voters elected Larry Krasner, a longtime reformist gadfly, to be the city’s chief prosecutor.

Lucas’s victory Tuesday is important because it’s a repudiation of Clarke’s particularly bleak record as Milwaukee County sheriff. But taken together, these victories by challengers show how the theater for criminal-justice reform has shifted from the federal level to local races. Since the appointment of police-friendly Attorney General Jeff Sessions, federal criminal-justice reform has slowed substantially, despite some efforts by the White House senior aide Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. Filling that void, activist groups are working for piecemeal reform in cities and counties.

As for Clarke, his profile has been lower since leaving office, but he hasn’t totally disappeared. On Sunday, an episode of the prankster Sacha Baron Cohen’s show aired in which Cohen, in disguise, asked Clarke about how he would have dispersed anti-fascist protesters in 1930s Germany.

David A. Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic.

===

greater milwaukee

no lnx

BREAKING

OPINION:Former Sheriff David Clarke tells Wisconsin Republicans to go big or go home

By David Clarke Jr.Apr 11, 2021

As I read news story after news story of other state Republican legislatures passing aggressive legislation on protecting gun rights and voting rights to ensure election integrity, I sit in disbelief about the small-ball being played by the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the GOP-led state Legislature.

Arizona recently passed a law to defy any new federal gun control laws. Arkansas is on the way to do the same. The Texas GOP state Senate passed a bill targeting mail-in voting to ensure election integrity, as did Georgia. So what is the Wisconsin GOP-led Legislature doing on these issues?

A few mainly cosmetic changes on election law have been put forth by several GOP legislators but nothing that excites the base GOP voter. If the RPOW wants to increase voter turnout in the 2022 midterms, it has to do a better job of energizing the base.

On the Second Amendment, the GOP has done nothing of significance in strengthening gun rights since it passed concealed carry. That was in 2011, ten years ago. The Second Amendment is a winning issue and should be included on the Republican agenda. Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu look at strengthening gun rights and voting integrity like it’s the plague, something to be avoided at all costs. In fact, anybody seeking the GOP nomination for governor and wanting to be the lead horse or running for the Legislature should be made to take unambiguous positions on these key issues. As for running on Act 10? Let’s just say that dog just won’t hunt this time.

That brings me to the issue of turnout for statewide races. Let me be blunt. The RPOW sucks at getting out the vote in statewide races. Want proof? If they were better than the Democrat got-out-the-vote efforts, Scott Walker would still be governor. In fact, since 2018, the last seven statewide races in Wisconsin saw Walker and Brad Schimel lose in 2018, Leah Vukmir get trounced by Tammy Baldwin, uber-liberal judge Rebecca Dallet defeated Michael Screnock by 12 points and Jill Karofsky won lopsidedly over incumbent conservative Dan Kelly, who was appointed by Walker. The Trump win in 2016 now seems more like an anomaly than anything else as he lost Wisconsin in 2020 and now the liberal candidate for superintendent of Public Instruction supported by WEAC wins in an almost landslide. If you thought Act 10 defanged the teachers union influence on elections, you would be wrong.

An Associated Press story on the 2021 DPI race points out that, “The margin of victory for the liberal-backed candidate is on par with races for the officially nonpartisan seat in the past two decades. Since 2001 the candidate favored by the Democrats and teachers’ union has won between 57% and 70% of the vote with the average being 62%.”

Nonpartisan races are not non-political. They are contests between conservative ideological candidates versus progressive ideological candidates. Partisan turnout and who gives money to what candidate still matter in these races.

Folks, the system is blinking red. There is an iceberg up ahead and the RPOW is headed right for it going into 2022 statewide races. A race for U.S. Senate and governor are on the ballot in Wisconsin. Here we go again with statewide races. Democrats nationally will be targeting Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat. National money will flood Wisconsin like it did for Biden. In fact, I predict record spending in Wisconsin for a U.S. Senate seat. Evers will ride that tide of Democrat money and voter turnout next November.

The RPOW will undoubtedly and arrogantly call these nonpartisan-race wipeouts for them an anomaly. Problem is that statistically, anomalies cease to be anomalies when they all go in one direction.

David Clarke Jr. is former sheriff of Milwaukee County, president of America’s Sheriff LLC, board member of the Crime Research Center, and author of the book “Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America.”

===

amzn

Review

The principles Sheriff Clarke stands for are the same principles this nation was built on. He's much more than the Milwaukee County Sheriff. He's America's Sheriff . . . andCop Under Fireis a must-read for people who love this great country.--Sean Hannity, FOX News Channel:{

}:Clarke is a unique voice today: fearless in his contempt for political correctness and eloquent in his articulation of core American values.--Heather MacDonald, Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of The War on Cops:{

}:Sheriff David Clarke provides a much-needed voice of reason in tackling America's challenges. He speaks his mind, and his no-nonsense approach to law and order is exactly what we need to make our country safer.--Chris W. Cox, Executive Director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action

About the Author

Since his appointment as Milwaukee County Sheriff in March 2002, David A. Clarke Jr.:{ has been elected to serve in that position for four consecutive terms. Clarke graduated from Concordia University Wisconsin with a degree in Criminal Justice Management. He is also a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Sheriff Clarke received an M.A. in Security Studies from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, in Monterey, California in September 2013.

He was honored with the 2013 Sheriff of the Year Award from the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and in 2016 he was named Law Enforcement Leader of the Year by the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Association Foundation (FLEOA). A regular and frequent guest on the FOX News network, Sheriff Clarke and his wife, Julie, live in Milwaukee, WI.}:

---

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Worthy Books; First Edition (February 28, 2017)

===

https://www.alternet.org**/2021/10**/sheriff-s-fellowship/

no lnx

One far-right, Trump-inspired think tank is adding more fuel to the extremism fire.

According to The Bulwark,The Claremont Institute is at the center of a new initiative called the "Sheriff's Fellowship." The disturbing new movement is described as an incentive to "weaponize 'patriotic law enforcement officers' to counter 'the perversion of the justice system by which the revolutionary left seeks to advance its totalitarian agenda.'"

In short, these types of sheriff groups classify more as "militias with badges, guns, and formal law enforcement powers. Or, if you like, secession-by-sheriff."

While the Sheriff's Fellowship is a new initiative for Claremont, the publication notes that other similar organizations like the Constitutional Sheriffs have existed for quite some time.

"Although the Oath Keepers, another anti-government extremist group that recruits from law enforcement, have garnered more media attention in recent years," the Anti-Defamation League said in their report, the Constitutional Sheriff movement "has arguably had more success infiltrating law enforcement, including at the executive level."

The central tenet of [the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association], borrowed from the anti-government extremist sovereign citizen movement, is that thecounty sheriff is the ultimate authority in the county, able to halt enforcement of any federal or state law or measure they deem unconstitutional.

Trump, members of his administration, and well-known law enforcement officials have echoed the values and beliefs highlighted by the Claremont Institute. In fact, during a previous interview, Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) lauded the practices of "Anglo-American" law enforcement.

"Since our founding, the independently elected sheriff has been the people's protector, who keeps law enforcement close to and accountable to people through the elected process," said Sessions. "The office of sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement. We must never erode this historic office."

Sheriff Mark Lamb, the sheriff of Pinal County, Ariz., is also seen as an upcoming member of the Republican Party. The law enforcement officer, who describes himself as "America's Sheriff," who "fashions himself as more of a vigilante resister, with a heavy dose of anti-government, sometimes militant rhetoric."

Lamb supported the "stop the steal" campaign in Arizona and has expressed sympathy for the Jan. 6 rioters. He has called vaccine mandates "garbage" and spoke at a recent anti-vaccine rally in Phoenix, where he told supporters, "We're going to find out what kind of patriots you are. We're going to find out who is willing to die for freedom." He also makes direct appeals to citizens, an effort that looks more dangerous after former President Donald Trump riled up supporters on Jan. 6.

For example, Lamb, an ardent defender of the Second Amendment, has spoken in support of the formation of private militias — "well within the Constitution," he told a group of supporters in March — and emphasized the power of sheriffs in Arizona, an open-carry state, to call local civilians into service to "suppress all affrays, insurrections and riots that comes to the attention of the sheriff." Last year, as Black Lives Matter protests swept across the country, he formed a local civilian "posse" to assist his office with law enforcement, even though there were no such protests in Pinal County.

Milwaukee's Sheriff David Clarke, a known vocal supporter of Trump, has also expressed extremist views. In the days leading up to the January 6 insurrection, Clarke even urged Capitol rioters not to comply with law enforcement.

"ALERT!!!," Clarke wrote on Facebook at the time. "If you attended the Trump rally in Washington DC last Wednesday and are contacted by the FBI or they come to your home, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TALK TO THEM. DON'T LET THEM IN YOUR HOME EITHER. POLITELY TELL THEM TO LEAVE AND CLOSE THE DOOR."

"If you did not go into the US Capital (sic) you do not have to explain why you exercised your Constitutional right to assemble," Clarke wrote. "TRUST NO GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL right now."

===

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-repeats-demand-that-trump-declare-martial-law-to-avoid-militia-led-civil-war/

[pix we the ppl big on forearm he hold mic w/ oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes at a pro-Trump "prayer rally" Dec. 12, 2020.]

Stewart Rhodes, pro-Trump leader of the anti-government extremist group Oath Keepers, posted an open letter to President Donald Trump Monday urging Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act against “domestic traitors,” order “trusted military units” to “seize all databases of the CIA, FBI, NSA, DNI, etc and the records held by all state electoral systems and administrators,” and declassify evidence of treason by “corrupt and compromised elites” who he claimed had worked with the Chinese government to subvert the election.

The letter echoes comments Rhodes made at a Dec. 12 “prayer rally” on the National Mall, where he warned Trump that if he doesn’t take action, right-wing militias will have to do so in a “much more bloody war.”

This language is nothing new for Rhodes. During last year’s impeachment investigation, Rhodes warned, “We ARE on the verge of a HOT civil war. Like in 1859.” In a 2017 Fourth of July message he said that if Hillary Clinton had defeated Trump with the help of “election fraud” and “illegal alien votes,” the country would have been involved in civil war “combat.” As Right Wing Watch’s Kristen Doerer noted in October, the Oath Keepers’ violent language is part of a broader use of rhetoric about civil war from across the right-wing movement.

In his new open letter, Rhodes writes:

It’s time to honor that oath by defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

This is your moment of destiny. Will you take your place in history as the savior of our Republic, right up there with President Washington and Lincoln? Or will you fail to act, while you still can, and leave office on January 20, 2021, leaving We the People to fight a desperate revolution/civil war against an illegitimate usurper and his Chicom puppet regime?

Rhodes claims that the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the recent case brought by the attorney general of Texas “shows that the cancer of cowardice, compromised officials, and treason has spread even to the Supreme Court.” He urges Trump not to concede the election:

Through well-orchestrated mass vote fraud, the Communist Chinese and their domestic enemy allies are about to install their illegitimate puppet, Joe Biden, and his equally illegitimate puppet running mate, Kamala Harris, into the White House, with their treasonous fingers on the nuclear launch codes.

You must act NOW as a wartime President, pursuant to your oath to defend the Constitution, which is very similar to the oath all of us veterans swore. We are already in a fight. It’s better to wage it with you as Commander-in-Chief than to have you comply with a fraudulent election, leave office, and leave the White House in the hands of illegitimate usurpers and Chinese puppets. Please don’t do it. Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021. Strike now.

If you fail to act while you are still in office, we the people will have to fight a bloody civil war and revolution against these two illegitimate Communist China puppets, and their illegitimate regime, with all of the powers of the deep state behind them, with nominal command of all the might of our armed forces (though we fully expect many units or entire branches to refuse their orders and to fight against them) and with their foreign allies also joining in to assist in the suppression of American patriots.

Rhodes urges Trump to federalize all National Guard units, call up military veterans under the age of 65, and order “all able-bodied Americans between the ages of 17-45 who are still loyal to the Constitution to likewise report for duty, bearing their own arms” to keep the peace and “suppress the expected riots, terrorism, and armed insurrection by the radical left in the United States (who have been armed and equipped for months now by our foreign and domestic enemies).”

Rhodes concludes the letter to Trump with a repeat of the demand and threat he posed at Saturday’s rally:

WE ARE IN FOR A FIGHT, NO MATTER WHAT. LET’S GET IT DONE WITH YOU AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF

There is no way out but through. And we will NOT submit to a Chicom puppet regime. You must stand tall and use your constitutional powers to fight this war against enemies foreign and domestic while you are still President and Commander-in-Chief. If you fail to do so, we the people will have to fight a bloody revolution/civil war to throw off an illegitimate deep state/Chinese puppet regime.

Oath Keepers, launched by Rhodes in 2009 after the election of President Barack Obama, claims to be a nonpartisan group of current and former law enforcement and military service members committed to protecting Americans’ constitutional rights by refusing to abide by unconstitutional orders. In reality, Oath Keepers under Rhodes is a hard-right anti-government group. Rhodes has repeatedly called for violence and declared that the U.S. is at the point of civil war.

In an article in the November 2020 issue of The Atlantic, Mike Giglio reported that Oath Keepers “has recruited thousands of police, soldiers, and veterans.” His reporting drew in part on adatabase of 25,000 Oath Keepers members and supporters obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Rhodes told Giglio that it would be better to wage civil war than to “slide into a nightmare” of a dictatorship. Giglio reported that at a recruiting meeting outside Nashville, Tennessee, in July, Rhodes called anti-fascist activists and protesters “insurrectionists” and declared, “Us old vets and younger ones are going to end up having to kill these young kids,” adding, “And they’re going to die believing they were fighting Nazis.” At an event in Virginia, a former marine declared, “We should have been shooting a long time ago instead of standing off to the side.”

Politico’s Ciara O’Rourke reported earlier this month that “Oath Keepers are quietly infiltrating local government.”

In 2016, Trump gave a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention to Sheriff David Clarke, who had previously received an award from the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group that shares some of Oath Keepers’ ideology.Clarke had also spoken at a fundraising event for Oath Keepers’ New York chapter....

===

https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/former-sheriff-david-clarke-pro-trump-protesters-somebody-might-have-go to jail

===

Media Matters: After Kenosha shootings, former Sheriff David Clarke advises radio listeners on how to get away with killing protesters.

Twitter Deleted Sheriff Clarke’s Wildly Reckless Coronavirus Tweets, So He Says He’s Quitting

TAKING HIS TALENTS ELSEWHERE

After being punished for promoting coronavirus disinformation on Twitter, the former Milwaukee sheriff claims he’ll move over to a social-media app popular with conservatives.

Will Sommer

Updated Mar. 16, 2020 6:10PM ET / Published Mar. 16, 2020 2:49PM ET

Shannon Finney/Getty

Twitter on Monday deleted tweets from former Milwaukee Sheriff and staunch Donald Trump ally David Clarke Jr. that downplayed the severity of the coronavirus by calling for businesses to ignore local ordinances aimed at stopping the pandemic.

On Sunday night, Clarke sent a series of tweets suggesting that the newly enacted measures ordering bars and restaurants to shut down were part of a scheme to destroy capitalism. Clarke urged local businesses to defy the law and stay open.

“It is now evident that this is an orchestrated attempt to destroy CAPITALISM,” Clarke wrote in a since deleted tweet. “First sports, then schools and finally commercial businesses. Time to RISE UP and push back. Bars and restaurants should defy the order. Let people decide if they want to go out.”

Four Ways Experts Say Coronavirus Nightmare Could End

SCENARIOS

Olivia Messer

Clarke also told his more than 900,000 followers on Twitter, in a now-deleted tweet, that coronavirus is the “DAMN FLU.” Clarke also suggested that billionaire Democratic financier George Soros, a frequent target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, was somehow involved in the pandemic.

Clarke’s tweets were deleted for breaking Twitter’s policy against “encouraging self-harm,” according to a Twitter spokesperson. But several tweets from Clarke’s rant remained accessible on the site as of Monday afternoon, including the tweet mentioning Soros and a tweet urging Clarke’s followers to “GO INTO THE STREETS” and visit restaurants.

GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open. NOW!

If government doesn’t stop this foolishness...STAY IN THE STREETS.

END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS.

— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) March 15, 2020

Twitter didn’t comment on why some of Clarke’s tweets had remained on the site.

Clarke, an outspoken Trump supporter who has claimed he was in the running for a Homeland Security job in the Trump administration, blasted Twitter for deleting the tweets in a statement to The Daily Beast that his press person demanded be printed in full (but which we’re not doing since we never agreed to do such a thing before he sent it).

“I notice that everytime I get on a roll excoriating liberals and their policies, complaints about my Tweets start to pop up,” Clarke told The Daily Beast. “I find it interesting that The Daily Beast can actually get a hold of a live spokesperson at Twitter. I nor anybody else can do that as thetotalitarian fascist speech suppression bullies at Twitter cleverly have a system that doesn’t allow anyone to reach a human being during its appeal process. All I get are computer generated responses.”

Clarke said he would focus his energies in the future on Parler, a social-media app similar to Twitter that’s become popular with conservatives.

“My tweets are not for the feint (sic) of heart and that won’t change,” Clarke wrote.

Clarke also sent The Daily Beast a critical meme about him, comparing the former sheriff to black-face-wearing actor Al Jolson and calling Clarke the “only black life that doesn’t matter.”

“I didn’t complain,” Clarke said in the statement. “Politics is a contact sport. You are going to hit and sometimes you will be hit. Mine aren’t this vile however. People including Twitter officials don’t like my content and I won’t seek their approval.”

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Clarke’s social media missives have raised difficult questions for the platforms; mainly, what role do they play in suppressing disinformation in a time of a global medical crisis and how exactly do they go about undertaking that task.

Clarke isn’t the only prominent Trump supporter downplaying the risks associated with the coronavirus. On Sunday, former New York Police Department commissioner Bernard Kerik suggested that anti-coronavirus measures were hysteria “being created to destabilize the country.”

Why do I feel this hysteria is being created to destabilize the country, and destroy the unparalleled and historic economic successes of President @realDonaldTrump?

Worldwide Deaths... Jan-Feb 2020

2,360: Coronavirus

69,602: Common Cold/Flu

240,950: HIV

— Bernard B. Kerik (@BernardKerik) March 16, 2020

Some voices further on the right-wing fringe have also been able to advocate dangerous responses to the coronavirus. An account claiming to belong toLiz Crokin, a prominent promoter of the Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories who has been banned from Twitter in the past, urged her 10,000 followers not to wash their hands. The account claimed the idea of hand-washing to stop the spread of the coronavirus is “media propaganda.”

As of Monday afternoon, the tweet was still visible on Twitter.

===

320 wapo

The Fix

Analysis

Twitter removes David Clarke’s tweets as he and other Trump allies sow coronavirus conspiracy theories and doubts

Aaron Blake

March 16, 2020 at 2:09 p.m. PDT

“If you’re healthy, you and your family, it’s a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easy. Let’s not hurt the working people in this country...go to your local pub” pic.twitter.com/jXdhOfwe9R

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) March 15, 2020

On CNN on Sunday morning, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, urged people to stop going out to eat and drink. “I would like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see in restaurants and in bars,” he said. “Whatever it takes to do that, that’s what I’d like to see.”

The same morning, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) appeared on Fox News with an almost diametrically opposed bit of advice. “If you’re healthy — you and your family — it’s a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant. Likely you can get in easy,” he said, adding, “Go to your local pub. ”

Nunes said he didn’t want the lack of work to harm the employees of those establishments, and that’s a legitimate concern as the stock market tumbles. But Fauci indicated that the bigger concern right now is the spread of a deadly disease.

And even as officials such as Fauci have increasingly urged people to socially distance themselves and take the coronavirus seriously, a number of top allies of President Trump, such as Nunes, have pressed forward with very different messages. Some of them have even floated conspiracy theories. While Trump’s commentary on the virus has routinely been more optimistic than that of health officials, these allies seem to have taken his cue and gone quite a bit further in stoking doubts about the whole thing.

Update: Trump was asked about Nunes’s comments on Monday afternoon, when he himself urged people to stay away from bars and restaurants. Trump said, “I haven’t heard that. I haven’t heard that from Devin or anybody else." But when told of the substance, he said, “I would disagree with it, but right now we don’t have an order one way or another. But I think it’s probably better that you don’t.”

Among them Sunday was a man Trump recently pardoned, former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik. Kerik said on Twitter: “Why do I feel this hysteria is being created to destabilize the country, and destroy the unparalleled and historic economic successes of President @realDonaldTrump?” He then compared the virus death toll (which is still climbing rapidly) to other causes of death worldwide.

Why do I feel this hysteria is being created to destabilize the country, and destroy the unparalleled and historic economic successes of President @realDonaldTrump?

Worldwide Deaths... Jan-Feb 2020

2,360: Coronavirus

69,602: Common Cold/Flu

240,950: HIV

— Bernard B. Kerik (@BernardKerik) March 16, 2020

In another set of tweets, Kerik attacked mayors and governors who he felt were overreacting to the coronavirus.

“Where is the unity, calming of fears, leadership, and the message that we as a country are going to get through this?” Kerik said. “President @realDonaldTrump is the only leader in the whole damned country! The rest are instilling fear, and are going to push 30% of the country into poverty!”

Where is the unity, calming of fears, leadership, and the message that we as a country are going to get through this? President @realDonaldTrump is the only leader in the whole damned country! The rest are instilling fear, and are going to push 30% of the country into poverty!

— Bernard B. Kerik (@BernardKerik) March 16, 2020

Another outspoken Trump-supporting former police chief, former Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke, was even more conspiratorial. He suggested on Twitter that the alleged hysteria was being pushed by liberal billionaire George Soros — a common subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories — and urged people to take to the streets.

“Not ONE media outlet has asked about George Soros’s involvement in this FLU panic,” Clarke said. “He is SOMEWHERE involved in this. ”

Not ONE media outlet has asked about George Soros’s involvement in this FLU panic. He is SOMEWHERE involved in this.

— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) March 15, 2020

Early in the Trump administration, Clarke said he accepted a top post at the Department of Homeland Security, then abruptly withdrew that acceptance. He, like Nunes, also urged people to disregard the advice to stay away from crowded places. He told his 917,000 followers, in fact, to take to the streets as a form of protest.

“GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS,” he said. “Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools reopen. NOW! If government doesn’t stop this foolishness … STAY Ind. THE STREETS. END GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS. ”

GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open. NOW!

If government doesn’t stop this foolishness...STAY IN THE STREETS.

END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS.

— David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) March 15, 2020

Twitter has taken down other Clarke tweets in accordance with its policy against tweets that encourage self-harm, including one in which he urged people to “defy the order” to not go to restaurants and bars and another in which he referred to the idea that “we have to err on the side of caution” using an expletive.

In case you’re wondering what the audiences are for these tweets, look at what else Kerik and Clarke were tweeting about Sunday. Both, in fact, tweeted approvingly about a potential Trump pardon for Michael Flynn, which Trump floated Sunday morning. Tying themselves to Trump has proved fruitful for each of them — particularly in Kerik’s case — and they seem to be at least partially taking their cues from him.

Ditto for Fox Business Network host Trish Regan, whose breathless segment last week alleging that the coronavirus was being used as another “impeachment hoax” preceded her show being shelved. She received the apparent sanction even though the message echoed one Trump had offered just a week before at a rally in which he cited a “new hoax” connected to coronavirus.

Perhaps these Trump allies have come to truly believe what they are saying, or perhaps they think it’s a message that will resonate with Trump supporters and the president himself. Trump is a master at seeding doubts by using suggestive language and not committing too hard, and his supporters are often happy to pick up the ball and run with it. That seems to be what happened here, at least to some extent.

But the things they are saying are very much opposed to what the Trump administration’s top health officials are advising. Whatever political effort people feel is afoot to undermine Trump, the guidance is clear that people need to take major precautions. And these comments all have the effect of encouraging people not to heed that advice.

The sentiment has penetrated. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll this weekend showed that just 60 percent of people thought the worst was to come on coronavirus, despite health officials saying definitively that it is and despite numbers indisputably continuing to rise. The doubts are particularly prevalent among Trump’s base, with just 40 percent of Republicans fearing that a family member would catch the disease, another 40 percent agreeing that the worst is yet to come, and just 12 percent saying they have stopped or plan to stop going to restaurants.

Large swaths of the country clearly aren’t heeding the warnings from people like Fauci, and they’re having their doubts confirmed by some of the president’s top allies. Even if the president doesn’t subscribe to any of these individual ideas of conspiracy theories, it’s the kind of moment in which you might expect him to clear the air.

Certain Trump allies such as Newt Gingrich, who is in hard-hit Italy, and Rush Limbaugh fill-in host Mark Steyn are being much more forceful in urging people to take this seriously. Trump’s comments about what Nunes said moved the ball forward somewhat and could discourage others from joining in what Nunes did. We’ll see.

===

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/children-were-tear-gassed-and-david-clarke-is-concerned-about-the-propaganda-war/

===

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/nra-maria-butina-spying-charges-trump-campaign/

For decades, the National Rifle Association has promoted its hardline politics with appeals to patriotism, freedom, and the staunch defense of the Second Amendment. But now, the controversial gun lobbying group finds itself deeply caught up in a wide-ranging effort to sabotage American democracy by an enemy foreign power.

Federal prosecutors unsealed charges this week against 29-year-old Russian national Maria Butina, a self-styled gun activist with long-running ties to the NRA who worked for Alexander Torshin, a high-level Russian government and banking official from President Vladimir Putin’s party. Butina, who was a graduate student at American University until this spring, began traveling to the United States in 2014 and operated as a “covert Russian agent,” according to an FBI affidavit. She acted as an unregistered foreign agent and participated in a multiyear conspiracy to infiltrate conservative political groups including the NRA, federal prosecutors say, in order to “advance the interests of the Russian Federation.”

Butina and Torshin—who for years also traveled to America for NRA events and were among Russian officials sanctioned by the Treasury Department in April—worked together in attempts to cultivate Republican politicians and eventually Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Under Torshin’s direction, “the covert influence campaign involved substantial planning, international coordination, and preparation,” according to court documents, which detail some of the evidence gathered by the FBI on Butina’s connections to a Russian intelligence agency and Russian oligarchs. Torshin is referred to only as a “Russian official” in the court documents, but his identity has since been confirmed in multiple news reports, and he appears with Butina in both the United States and Russia throughout several years’ worth of social-media posts previously documented by Mother Jones.

The pair of Russians spent years building ties with the NRA, as we reported in our recent investigation. And according to a New York Times report this week, the NRA “repeatedly brought Butina from her native Russia to the United States for events until she obtained a student visa in August 2016.”

Beginning back in 2013, Butina developed a relationship with an unnamed “American political operative” described in the court documents, who has been identified in media reports as GOP activist andNRA member Paul Erickson. In her private communications with Erickson, Butina spoke of the key influence of the NRA on the Republican Party, noting that the gun group is “the largest sponsor of the elections to the US congress.” Through Erickson and her connections with the NRA, Butina sought to establish “‘back channel’ lines of communication” to influential political figures. In photos that she posted to her Facebook page, she posed with Republican politicians, including former presidential candidates Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal, and former US Sen. Rick Santorum.

:{Butina at an NRA shooting range in Fairfax, Virginia, posted to her VK page in May 2014

As the putative founder of a Russian group called The Right to Bear Arms, Butina forged connections with NRA executives, including former NRA President David Keene, whom she was in extensive contact with over several years. Keene traveled to Moscow in November 2013 at the invitation of Butina and Torshin to attend a Right to Bear Arms event. That same month, future Trump national security adviser John Bolton—then a member of the NRA’s “international affairs subcommittee”—recorded a video address talking up gun rights at Keene’s request, which Right to Bear Arms purportedly used to lobby the Russian legislature. (Private gun ownership is relatively minimal in Russia.)

The following January, Torshin published a gun appreciation piece in the Washington Times, where Keene was the op-ed editor at the time. That April, Torshin and Butina attended the NRA convention in Indianapolis, where Butina joined Keene for meetings. In the fall of 2014, Erickson traveled to Moscow to attend a Right to Bear Arms meeting with Butina.

Then in late March 2015—two days before Butina emailed Erickson a plan for further building political connections—she posted on Facebook that she was again headed for the NRA annual convention. Butina and Torshin both traveled to Nashville for the event that April, one of multiple NRA annual conventions that the pair of Russians attended between 2012 and 2016. There, Butina and Torshin met Scott Walker. According to a report in Bloomberg, Torshin also met and had a “jovial exchange” with Trump.

Butina’s American contact noted that the “international reach of the NRA placed me in a position a couple of years ago to slowly begin cultivating a back-channel to President Putin’s Kremlin.”

Three months later, in July 2015,Butina went to Wisconsin to attend Walker’s presidential campaign launch. The Wisconsin trip came just two days after Butina had traveled to Las Vegas for FreedomFest, an annual conservative event where Trump was speaking. Trump, who had announced his White House run in June, fielded questions from the audience. Butina took a turn at the microphone: “I am visiting from Russia,” she said.

“Ahhhhh, Putin!” Trump interjected, prompting laughter from the crowd as he added a mocking riff about the current president: “Good friend of Obama, Putin. He likes Obama a lot. Go ahead.”

“My question will be about foreign politics,” Butina said, and then asked Trump if he would continue “damaging” economic sanctions against Russia as president. Trump appeared not to know who Butina was. After going off on Obama and digressing into trade talk, he responded that he would “get along very nicely” with Putin. “I don’t think you’d need the sanctions,” Trump said.

When senior Trump campaign aides later saw video of the exchange (first highlighted in the national media by our investigation published in March), they found it strange and disconcerting.

The NRA junket to Moscow

In December 2015, an NRA delegation including Erickson, Keene, NRA Vice President Pete Brownell, major NRA donor Joe Gregory, and Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke traveled to Moscow, where they met with Kremlin officials—including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, one of the first Russians sanctioned by the Obama administration after Putin annexed Crimea in 2014. The delegation dined on lavish meals and visited a Russian gun manufacturer. Butina and Torshin participated in and helped host the gathering.

Sheriff Clarke, who has served on NRA subcommittees and spoken at NRA political events dating back to 2014, filed an ethics report showing that The Right to Bear Arms, Butina’s group, had paid $6,000 for his trip expenses. The report also noted that Brownell, who became NRA president in 2017, personally paid nearly $14,000 for Clarke’s airfare and visa expenses for the Russia trip.

The NRA has tried to downplay the junket. This May, NRA national spokeswoman Dana Loesch, who speaks directly for the NRA leadership, commented on a story from my colleague David Corn about a Russian sniper rifle that the NRA helped promote by participating in a video recorded at the gun manufacturer during the Moscow trip.Loesch asserted in a tweet that “there was no NRA trip.” But when I raised that exchange again after the news of Butina’s arrest this week, Loesch confirmed the NRA delegation’s visit to Moscow—though she now claimed it was an unofficial one. “I said it wasn’t an official trip,” she tweeted at me.

The gun manufacturer’s promotional opens with a title card reading, “The delegation of National Rifle Association of America (NRA), headed by the first vice-president of the association Pete Brownell, visited the Moscow firearms factory ORSIS on December 11, 2015.” The video shows the NRA leaders and representatives in talks with the Russians, touring the premises, and enthusiastically firing various weapons. In one segment, Butina can be seen sitting just behind Clarke.

Butina andClarke (right); screen shot from video recorded at the December 2015 gathering in Moscow

The NRA has not commented publicly so far about the federal case against Butina. Two NRA spokespersons declined to respond to a detailed inquiry from Mother Jones. David Keene and Paul Erickson also did not respond to multiple separate requests for comment.

Targeting the 2016 election

When the NRA annual convention kicked off in May 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky, Torshin met Donald Trump Jr. during a private dinner the night before his father gave a much anticipated speech. (“The only way to save our Second Amendment,” his father told the crowd the next day, “is to vote for a person that you all know named Donald Trump.”) A lawyer for Don Jr. later said the exchange between his client and Torshin at the dinner “was all gun-related small talk.” The Washington Post reported this week that Butina also met Don Jr. briefly at the convention.

Butina and Torshin are both “lifetime members” of the NRA, according to Torshin, who posed for photos in Louisville armed with a large rifle, an NRA “Ring of Freedom” donor ID badge hanging around his neck.

Torshin at the 2016 NRA annual convention in Louisville

That same month, as the New York Times previously reported, Erickson emailed a high-level Trump campaign official with the message that “Russia is quietly but actively seeking a dialogue.” He noted that the “international reach of the NRA placed me in a position a couple of years ago to slowly begin cultivating a back-channel to President Putin’s Kremlin.”

Three months earlier, Erickson and Butina had formed Bridges LLC; Erickson later told *McClatchy* that they created the South Dakota-based company for Butina to get financial assistance for her graduate studies—“an unusual way to use a LLC,” as McClatchy dryly noted.

After Trump won, Butina contacted Torshin. “I am ready for further orders,” she told him.

After Trump won the presidential election, according to the court documents made public this week, Butina contacted Torshin. “I am ready for further orders,” she told him.

A lawyer for Butina has denied the federal charges, calling them “overblown.” Butina appeared at a hearing in federal court on Wednesday in Washington, where her lawyer said she had cooperated with an FEC inquiry in March regarding contributions to a political committee (no further details of which were specified at the hearing). The latest court filing from prosecutors on Wednesday alleged that Butina offered sex to another American, whose identity is unknown, in “exchange for a position within a special interest organization.”

According to a report earlier this year from McClatchy, the FBI has been investigating whether Torshin illegally funneled money to the Trump campaign through the NRA. (The FBI would “neither confirm nor deny” the investigation to Mother Jones.)

The Butina case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the National Security Division of the Justice Department; it is unclear to what degree the case may relate to the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. But a near certainty is that additional significant details from the case will emerge.

Butina in Moscow with former NRA President David Keene; posted November 2013

Facebook

The NRA seemed emboldened by the 2016 election.Sheriff Clarke gave for the political arm of the organization at the 2017 annual convention in Atlanta, where he boasted, “You know I worked hard to get Donald Trump elected president of the United States.” As the crowd applauded, he added, “You see, these rat bastards on the left never give up. For them, election defeats don’t matter. It’s simply a time to regroup and continue their assault on our constitution, the rule of law, liberty, and American exceptionalism.”

Two weeks after the high school massacre this February in Parkland, Florida, NRA Executive Director Chris Cox met privately in the Oval Office with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, and then announced, “POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control. #NRA #MAGA.”

Yet, as the federal government prosecutes an alleged Russian spy whose mission flourished thanks to her deep ties with the NRA, the gun group may no longer be able to so easily declare itself a patriotic defender of America.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/trump-favorite-david-clarke-gets-himself-suspended-twitter-berserk-liberal-bashing

no link img

Trump Favorite David Clarke Gets Himself Suspended from Twitter for Berserk, Liberal-Bashing Rant

This is who the president very nearly added to his administration.

By Jen Hayden / DailyKos January 2, 2018, 8:42 AM GMT

David Clarke Jr., the former Milwaukee County Sheriff who may or may not be currently gainfully employed at a Trump PAC, had a terrible, no good weekend. First, the news broke that the FBI got a search warrant for his email. The whole affair started in January 2016 when a fellow traveler on a flight to Milwaukee asked if he was Sheriff Clarke and then shook his head (in disgust) when Clarke affirmed it was him. Clarke ordered his deputies to come to the gate and they detained the man for questioning when he left the aircraft!

29 Dec

Robert Snell

@robertsnellnews

Replying to @robertsnellnews and 2 others

Man alleged he was unlawfully detained after talking to Sheriff David Clarke. Here's narrative from FBI search warrant affidavit pic.twitter.com/L9JXwspCFj

Robert Snell

@robertsnellnews

FBI is reading Sheriff David Clarke's text messages to staff, according to search warrant affidavit. Here's one exchange after incident at airport pic.twitter.com/V6e80FBXZB

2:13 PM - Dec 29, 2017

View image on Twitter

48 48 Replies 569 569 Retweets 1,083 1,083 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

That revelation set off Sheriff Snowflake and he began losing his mind on Twitter. Here is a brief taste of that meltdown. And no, we have no idea why he posts pictures of himself while tweeting.

David A. Clarke, Jr.

@SheriffClarke

Nothing like getting under the skin of lefties like I did today. I fight to win. You come at me libs you better bring a hard hat, some aspirin and your veggie wrap because it’s going to be a long day and I’m going to smack you around until you crawl back to your mom’s basement.

7:18 PM - Dec 30, 2017

17,110 17,110 Replies 10,663 10,663 Retweets 37,226 37,226 likes

David A. Clarke, Jr.

7:18 PM - Dec 30, 2017

17,110 17,110 Replies 10,663 10,663 Retweets 37,226 37,226 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

But, it was this now deleted tweet that caused his account to be locked. He threatened to make “LYING LIB MEDIA” taste their own blood.

Twitter’s terms of service specifically forbid threats of violence. Of course, Twitter users rightly and hilariously mocked Clarke during his meltdown. Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara resolved to “laugh more” at Sheriff Clarke in the new year and Twitter user Matt Wilkinson hilariously updated Clarke’s charging dog image to be more … Clarke-like.

Resolution: laugh more at @SheriffClarke. Also capitalize less. https://twitter.com/sheriffclarke/status/947525959519035392 …

Matt Wilkinson

@justcallmatt

There. Fixed it. pic.twitter.com/qwJm3ex8mQ

8:42 PM - Dec 31, 2017

View image on Twitter

61 61 Replies 226 226 Retweets 917 917 likes

The band Smash Mouth also got in on the pile on:

Yo dude WTF! You could have gone with Sugar Ray Politics, or No Doubt Politics, or Alien Ant Farm Politics, or Goo Goo Dolls Politics, or Spin Doctors Politics,....or,..... https://twitter.com/SheriffClarke/status/947525959519035392 …

10:21 AM - Dec 31, 2017

323 323 Replies 5,229 5,229 Retweets 24,179 24,179 likes

Unfortunately, before this post was published, cowboy Clarke deleted the “taste their own blood” tweet that caused his suspension and was able to get his posting privileges back from Twitter. He started anew with a call for conservatives to get ready for battle in 2018.

David A. Clarke, Jr.

@SheriffClarke

Get ready for the 2018 battle for the midterm elections. GOP must keep both houses of Congress to keep the @realDonaldTrump agenda and vision for America alive. It's going to be a battle. Saddle up!

6:24 AM - Jan 2, 2018

1,280 1,280 Replies 4,303 4,303 Retweets 14,989 14,989 likes

You gonna let this man and his friends win in 2018? What are you going to do this year to stop them in their tracks? Find a candidate and sign up to volunteer today!

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Opinions on whether or not Clarke’s pins and uniform are inappropriate seem to be influenced by viewers’ opinions on the man himself. Clarke is a lightning rod of a political figure. He began his law enforcement career with the Milwaukee Police Department in 1978, working his way up to the rank of captain, and only left the department in 2002 to take the position of Milwaukee County Sheriff.

Clarke is a staunch and outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, and frequently stumped for him during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has controversially compared the Black Lives Matter movement to terrorists, and is also the target of several lawsuits dealing with prisoner fatalities in his jail system as well as and harassment of a private citizen. The Anti-Defamation League also cautions that Clarke has ties to two groups it classifies as extremist anti-government organizations: the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), and the Oath Keepers.

Actual “stolen valor” is a serious offense — it’s a federal crime to fraudulently present oneself as the recipient of authentic military medals like a silver star, a Purple Heart or a Combat Infantryman’s Badge with the intent of benefiting from doing so. Although Clarke has a penchant for meticulously arranging his personal pins on his dress uniform, he never claimed to have served in the military and says the items are personal belongings, not military-issued medals or badges.

–Data Collection Nationwide–

Other police departments are similarly sketchy when pressured to speak on their surveillance technologies. Wisconsin’s Milwaukee PD hid the use of cell site simulators, or Stingrays, from courts for months.Stingrays mimic cellphone towers, thus tricking phones into providing all manner of user information and data.

Nearby, the Wauwatosa Police Department, despite having admitting to “collecting and analyzing cell phone data” in its public reports, denied ever even coming close to a Stingray. It took the department 5 weeks to respond to that open records request, which is considered unusually long. It remains unknown how Wauwatosa PD, which has been blasted for lack of transparency before, collects cell phone data.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/4-hair-raising-facts-about-trumps-potential-homeland-security-pick

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said Wednesday he would leave office next month to accept a federal appointment as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He said he would work in the department's Office of Partnership and Engagement as a liaison with state, local and tribal law enforcement and governments.

"I'm looking forward to joining that team," Clarke said Wednesday on Vicki McKenna's radio talk show on WISN-AM (1130).

http://mediamatters.org/research/2016/11/16/right-wing-radio-host-and-frequent-fox-guest-history-inflammatory-rhetoric-being-considered-dhs-head/214493

Right-Wing Radio Host And Frequent Fox Guest With A History Of Inflammatory Rhetoric Being Considered For DHS Head

Research ››› November 16, 2016 10:41 AM EST ››› BRENNAN SUEN & CYDNEY HARGIS

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering right-wing talk radio host and Fox News favorite Sheriff David Clarke for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Not only is Clarke’s record as Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin questionable, he has repeatedly appeared on Fox News to spout racially-charged rhetoric, including comparing Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance to the Ku Klux Klan and calling Black Lives Matter a “subversive movement.”

Sheriff David Clarke Reportedly Being Considered For Department Of Homeland Security

President-Elect Trump Is Reportedly Considering Clarke For Head Of DHS. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is reportedly being considered for Secretary of Homeland Security by the incoming Trump administration. Clarke was a Trump surrogate throughout the presidential campaign, known for his “tough on crime positions and unapologetically blunt comments.” Clarke said he will accept the position if offered, but is “not expecting anything.” From a November 11 CNN.com article:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said in an interview Thursday he was open to serving in the Trump administration if a position was offered.

[...]

Clarke was a surrogate for Trump during the presidential campaign and is known for his tough on crime positions and unapologetically blunt comments. Clarke, who is African American, also made news during the campaign for his opposition to Black Lives Matter activists, whom he predicted would join forces with ISIS.

BuzzFeed and Politico reported that Clarke is under consideration to become the next secretary of Homeland Security. [CNN.com, 11/11/16]

Clarke Is A Right-Wing Media Personality

Clarke Hosts “The People’s Sheriff” Podcast, Focusing On “Empowering Individuals Rather Than ‘The State.’” Clarke’s podcast is located on the website for his PAC. On the program he discusses topics including “the bastardization of blackness in America,” NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest the national anthem, and a potential Hillary Clinton indictment. [The People’s Sheriff, Stitcher.com]

Clarke Is A Frequent Fox News Guest. Clarke has appeared on Fox News regularly to make anti-Black Lives Matter and anti-protest comments while supporting the police and gun rights. Clarke also made an appearance in which he described President Obama as a “cop-hater.” [CNSNews.com. 7/8/16, Fox News Insider, 1/6/16, Media Matters, 10/26/15]

Clarke Has A Well Established Track Record Of Inflammatory Comments

Clarke Has Been Staunchly Opposed To Black Lives Matter, Calling It A “Subversive Movement” Advocating “The Overthrow Of Our Government.” Clarke frequently appears on Fox News to attack the Black Lives Movement with inflammatory language, including labeling protesters of police shootings “primitive” and “subhuman,” and claiming that protesters are “subhuman creeps” who should be arrested “for creating a disturbance.” Clarke has called Democratic Party endorsement of the Black Lives Matter movement “plantation politics” and said the movement will eventually merge with ISIS. [Media Matters, 10/26/15; Media Matters, 9/21/16; Media Matters, 10/25/16, Media Matters, 10/14/16, Washington Times, 10/28/16]

Clarke Claimed "The DNC Theme Tonight Is Compassion For Criminals." During the July 26 edition of Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto, Clarke commented during the Democratic National Convention that "the DNC theme tonight is compassion for criminals," after the mothers of victims of police brutality appeared on stage with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Clarke claimed the convention was "holding up people who were involved in criminal behavior,” and added that the mothers “are being held up as symbols, as the 21st century civil rights struggle, which tells me they're scraping the bottom of the barrel":

STUART VARNEY (GUEST HOST): Sheriff Clarke, what do you think about the speakers tonight, including the mother of Michael Brown?

DAVID CLARKE: I think it's a shame. Compare and contrast that to the RNC's theme of make America safe again. The DNC theme tonight is compassion for criminals. They're holding up people who were involved in criminal behavior, assaulting law enforcement officers. Many of them were armed. Some of them don't even fit here.

Trayvon Martin was not a police use of force, neither was Sandra Bland who hung herself, tragically that is, in a county jail. These are being held up as symbols, as the 21st century civil rights struggle which tells me they're scraping the bottom of the barrel. And we've come a long way. [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 7/26/16]

Clarke: African-Americans Deal Drugs “Because They Are ‘Lazy’ And ‘Morally Bankrupt.’” According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke claimed African-Americans sell drugs because they are “uneducated, they’re lazy, and they’re morally bankrupt” on an episode of his podcast. From a November 6, 2015 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article:

Just when you thought Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. couldn't top himself, he goes out and does this.

In a podcast on a conservative website, Clarke said African-Americans end up dealing drugs because they are "lazy" and "morally bankrupt."

"Let me tell you why blacks sell drugs and involve themselves in criminal behavior instead of a more socially acceptable lifestyle — because they're uneducated, they're lazy, and they're morally bankrupt," Clarke said. "That's why."

This latest tirade punctuates a run of extreme and attention-grabbing comments. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/6/15]

Clarke: Children Without Fathers “Grow Up To Be Unmanageable Misfits That The Police Then Have to Deal With Aggressively.” On Fox News’ The Kelly File, Clarke responded to the mothers of victims of police brutality, including Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and Eric Garner by asking, “Where are the dads?” Clarke also claimed that growing up without fathers turns children into “unmanageable misfits” that police have no choice but to deal with aggressively. [Media Matters, 7/25/16]

Clarke: The Problem With Community Policing Is “That Young Black Males Don’t Respect Authority.” On the August 30 edition of Fox News’ Kelly File, Clarke claimed the real problem with community policing is that young black males don’t respect authority. Clarke also questioned why so many African American males “will not comply with law enforcement officers’ lawful commands to take them into custody?” [Media Matters, 8/30/16]

Clarke: Trump Will “Be The Best Thing That Has Happened To The Black Community Since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” On the November 4 edition of Fox News’ Hannity, Clarke slammed Hillary Clinton’s outreach to the black community, while claiming that Trump’s outreach means that “he’s going to be the best thing that has happened to the black community since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” [Media Matters, 11/4/16]

Clarke: “The Only Remnant Of Oppression [Left] For Black People” In America Is “The Democrat Party.” On the August 15 edition of Fox News’ Hannity, Clarke claimed the Democratic Party has “exploited” the black community “ever since Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty.” Clarke went on to claim “the only remnant of oppression for black people is … the Democrat Party.” [Media Matters, 8/15/16]

Clarke Compared Beyoncé’s Super Bowl Performance To The KKK. After Beyoncé used her performance at the 2016 Super Bowl to make a political statement, Clarke appeared on Fox News to say, “Them coming out, Beyoncé in those Black Panther-type uniforms, would that be acceptable if a band, a white band came out in hoods and white sheets in the same sort of fashion? We would be appalled and outraged.” [Media Matters, 2/8/16]

Clarke’s Tenure As Milwaukee County Sheriff Riddled With Controversy And Legal Action

An Inmate Died Of “Profound Dehydration”At Clarke’s Jail. According to a September 19 Huffington Post article, a suspect in a shooting died of “profound dehydration” in a Milwaukee County Jail cell, nine days after being arrested. The inmate’s death was ruled a homicide, meaning that while no one may be prosecuted, his death was “caused by the actions of another person.” The Huffington Post reported that other inmates heard the 38 year-old “beg for water in the days before he died”:

Authorities have ruled the death of an inmate at a jail run by a top law enforcement supporter of GOP nominee Donald Trump a homicide caused by “profound dehydration.”

Terrill Thomas, 38, was found dead in a Milwaukee County Jail cell on April 24, nine days after being arrested in connection with a shooting. Other inmates heard Thomas beg for water in the days before he died, the Journal Sentinel reported in July.

[...]

Last week the Milwaukee County medical examiner announced that Thomas’ death was due to profound dehydration, according to the Journal Sentinel. By labeling the death a homicide, the medical examiner indicated that it was caused by the actions of another person, although that judgment does not necessarily mean that anyone will be criminally prosecuted in the case.

The Milwaukee County Jail is run by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., an outspoken Trump supporter and critic of the Black Lives Matter movement. Clarke, who is technically a Democrat, has become popular in conservative circles in recent years for his specific criticism of President Barack Obama and more general critiques of liberalism. A recent disclosure form revealed that Clarke took in more than $150,000 in speaking fees, travel reimbursements and gifts in 2015.

Inmates told the Journal Sentinel that the water in Thomas’ cell had been shut off for six days, and one inmate allegedly said to a guard, “If something happens to that man, it’s your fault.” [Huffington Post, 9/19/16]

The Atlantic: “Clarke Eliminated Nearly All Programs For Prisoners … And Woke Prisoners Up With Bullhorns” Before The County Board Took Back Control Of Facility. A May 6 Atlantic profile of Clarke highlights his extreme positions and how that has been reflected in the management of his Milwaukee jails. The profile noted that for Clarke, rehabilitation is “‘not something for the criminal-justice system to do’” and that he subsequently eliminated almost all prison programs except for a boot camp, and woke his inmates up with bullhorns. The county board has since taken back control of the prison, and “increased job-training and GED programs.” The profile went into extensive detail about Clarke’s relationship with other county board members, including the county executive, whom Clarke accused of being a heroin addict and having “penis envy” after making budget cuts. The Atlantic’s Maurice Chammah wrote that he contacted numerous country leaders who declined to comment, for fear of “‘retribution’” by Clarke. [The Atlantic, 5/6/16]

The Atlantic: “Clarke’s Attitudes Illustrate Why” Wisconsin Has Highest U.S. Incarceration Rate Among African-Americans. According to an October 30, study by City Lab, a project of The Atlantic, , Wisconsin has the highest incarceration rate of African-American men, which the study ties to Clarke’s anti-Black Lives Matter rhetoric. The study highlighted Clarke’s denial of police brutality, and his comments that Black Lives Matter will eventually merge with ISIS. From the October 30 study:

If Clarke makes a fitting avatar for the worst place for African Americans to live, it’s not just because of his disparaging views about Black Lives Matter, but because his county happens to incarcerate more black lives than anywhere else in America. In fact, Wisconsin’s reputation as the top state for African American incarceration per capita is owed, in large part, to Milwaukee County and Clarke’s methods of policing it.

[The Atlantic, 10/30/15]

The NRA Largely Paid For A Trip That Sent Clarke To Visit Russia And Israel. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article detailing how Clarke received “more than $150,000 in speaking fees, travel reimbursements, gifts and other items during 2015” noted that “Clarke received a $40,000 trip to Israel and Russia funded largely by the National Rifle Association.” Clarke’s office would not reveal the details of the visit, although the trip was also paid for by The Right to Bear Arms, a Russian pro-gun group associated with Russian nationalism:

Clarke's ethics disclosures show that he brought in slightly more than $150,000 in speaking fees, travel reimbursements, gifts and other items during 2015 — more than what he made as Milwaukee County sheriff, a job that pays $132,290 annually.

Notably, Clarke received a $40,000 trip to Israel and Russia funded largely by the National Rifle Association, earned $26,000 in speaking fees, locked up $22,500 in car services to shuttle to his various media appearances, took a plane flight valued at $9,000 to speak at an Idaho conference and scored playoff basketball tickets from the Milwaukee Bucks' GM.

[...]

Clarke's largest gift last year was his jaunt to Israel and Russia from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13, a trip valued at $39,940 for airfare, hotels, visas, ground transportation, meals and excursions. His expenses, including $22,452 in airfare, were picked up by the National Rifle Association Ring of Freedom; NRA First Vice President Pete Brownell, CEO of Brownells, a major gun parts supplier; and The Right to Bear Arms, a Russian gun-rights group.

Earlier this year, Clarke's office declined a records request for details on the trip, saying it was personal— not official — travel, even though personal trips (a.k.a. vacations) are not supposed to be listed on the ethics form. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/22/16, RadioFreeEurope, 12/20/12]

Clarke Spent Thousands On Horses For Police, Workout Gear, Disney Training, And Flat Screen TVs. According to a September 28, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, Clarke’s office spent over $800,000 on amenities including workout equipment for his staff. Under the national asset forfeiture program, property taken during a drug raid can be “used to compensate victims and deter crime.” While Clarke did not break the law, he received criticism for the purchases which he claimed was out of a “desire to gain control of the forfeiture funds”:

The Milwaukee County sheriff's office has used funds from crime asset forfeitures to buy workout equipment for Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.'s command staff, customer training for 50 employees through a Disney program and a mounted patrol unit, a county audit released Friday shows.

Under the national asset forfeiture program, property seized in drug raids and other crimes can be used to compensate victims and deter crime. The sheriff's office fund provided more than $800,000 since 2008.

None of the spending violated federal rules governing asset forfeiture money, but it did run afoul of county procurement rules, the audit said.

The tab for the workout gear came to $11,400; the Disney Destinations training cost $24,900; and more than $77,000 went for horse rental, boarding and transport for the sheriff's mounted patrol. A $43,000 Dodge Ram pickup bought in 2008 to haul the horses was the largest portion of the mounted patrol spending from the fund, the report says.

The funds also have paid for a wide assort ment of vehicles and watercraft, uniforms and equipment, including $8,200 for nine flat-screen televisions for top sheriff command staff and $12,340 for "high performance metal detectors" to screen deputies and other sheriff's employees before meetings with Clarke for disciplinary hearings, the report says.

Of the funds, $115,000 was given to community groups. Clarke said attention should focus on those donations and not on his equipment purchases or mounted patrol. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/28/12]

Clarke Was Successfully Sued For Forcing Employees To Attend Meetings Where Evangelical Christians “Proselytize[d]”. In a 2011 lawsuit, the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Association sued Clarke for attempting to make conversion meetings at The Fellowship of Christian Centurions mandatory for the county’s deputy sheriffs. The association argued that Clarke’s “conduct violated both the constitutional prohibition against religious coercion and the constitutional ban on endorsement of religion.” The court agreed, and also denied Clarke’s argument that “the Free Speech clause compelled him” to grant the church access to his deputy sheriffs.” [Americans United For Separation Of Church And State, 10/24/11]

PolitiFact Rated 72 Percent Of The Sheriff’s Statements “Mostly False.” The fact-checking website PolitiFact rated 72 percent of Clarke’s statements since he was appointed in 2002 either “false” or mostly “false,” including his statement that he has balanced every budget since his appointment. Only one percent of his statements were rated “mostly true,” and two percent rated “half true.” Clarke not had any of his statements rated “true.” [PolitiFact, accessed 11/15/16]

Clarke Used Anti-Government, Pro-Militia Rhetoric

During NRA Speech, Clarke Raised The Prospect Of Resisting The Government Following A Gun Ban. During an April 2014 appearance at the NRA’s annual meeting, Clarke said, “If you're going to stand with me, you have to be willing to resist any attempt by government to disarm law-abiding people by fighting with the ferociousness of a junkyard dog. For it says in the Declaration of Independence that it is our right, it is our duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for our future security.” [Media Matters, 4/28/14]

Clarke Was Given Sheriff Of The Year Award By Extremist Group. In 2013, Constitutional Sheriffs And Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) recognized Clarke as sheriff of the year, a distinction Clarke said he was "both honored and humbled to receive." After a May 15 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article scrutinized the group behind the award, Clarke said that the paper disparaged CSPOA, "a group of honorable Sheriffs and officers who vow to uphold their oath of defending the U.S. Constitution," and had published a "hit piece" on CSPOA leader Richard Mack. For his part, Mack has praised Clarke as "a modern-day hero":

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. recently announced that he had been named the "sheriff of the year" for 2013 by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.

Clarke put out a press release saying he was "both honored and humbled" by the award, which will be given out at a convention later this month.

[...]

The Southern Poverty Law Center - an Alabama-based nonprofit that tracks hate groups - has accused Mack of espousing "radical-right" views and trying to create a "nation of county sheriffs who believe the government is the enemy." Mack's group got some media attention when it compiled a list of more than 400 sheriffs who vowed not to enforce President Barack Obama's gun control measures. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/15/13]

Clarke Warned Of Second American Revolution “The Likes Of Which Would Make The First Revolution Pale By Comparison.” During a 2013 appearance on The Alex Jones Show, Clarke addressed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' claim that "the Obama Marxist types want to start a civil war in this country" by confiscating guns, stating, "I believe that if somebody tried to enforce something of that magnitude you would see the second coming of an American Revolution, the likes of which would make the first revolution pale by comparison." [Media Matters, 4/28/14]

Prior To Trump’s Election, Clarke Wrote On Social Media That It’s “Pitchforks And Torches Time” In America. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in October that “Clarke, who criticized Black Lives Matter as ‘an anarchist movement,’ posted a tweet calling for popular revolt along with a picture of angry professionals wielding clubs and torches. ‘It's incredible that our institutions of gov, WH, Congress, DOJ, and big media are corrupt & all we do is bitch,’ Clarke wrote. ‘Pitchforks and torches time’”:

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/15/16]

Clarke Called For A “Revolution” With “Pitchforks And Torches” After Supreme Court Marriage Equality Ruling. On the July 4, 2015, edition of Clarke’s radio show, he called for a revolution after the Supreme Court’s’ marriage equality ruling in order to “get this country back.” Clarke went on to advocate for defending businesses that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community, urging his listeners to “surround that business and dare the federal government to come in and close it.” [Right Wing Watch, 7/9/15]

Clarke Has Called Protesters “Primitive,” “Subhuman” and “Anarchists.”

Clarke Attacked Protesters In The Wake Of Trump’s Election. Clarke threatened that anti-Trump protests by “radical anarchists must be quelled.” From his November 9 tweet:

View image on Twitter

David A. Clarke, Jr. ? @SheriffClarke

These temper tantrums from these radical anarchists must be quelled. There is no legitimate reason to protest the will of the people.

8:45 PM - 9 Nov 2016

9,834 9,834 Retweets 18,736 18,736 likes

[Twitter.com, 11/9/16]

Clarke: “These Riots Are Not Protests And Should Be Quelled Quickly. These Goon Anarchists Do Not Believe In The U.S. Constitution.”

View image on Twitter

David A. Clarke, Jr. ? @SheriffClarke

These riots are not protest and should be quelled quickly. These goon anarchists do not believe in the US Constitution or the rule of law.

1:42 PM - 11 Nov 2016

8,519 8,519 Retweets 14,583 14,583 likes

[Twitter.com, 11/11/16]

Clarke Called Protesters “Primitive” And “Subhuman.” On the September 21 edition of Fox News’ Your World With Neil Cavuto, Clarke slammed protests in the wake of a shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clarke claimed the officers “were under attack,” and that the protesters shows “at best primitive behavior, and at worst you saw subhuman behavior as people just reacted to circumstances.” [Media Matters, 9/21/16]