The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is a political organization of local

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

officials in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

who contend that federal and state government authorities are subordinate to the local authority of county

sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and

. Self-described constitutional sheriffs assert that they are the supreme legal authority with the power and duty to defy or disregard laws they regard as

unconstitutional Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...

.Jason Wilson
US sheriffs rebel against state mask orders even as Covid-19 spreads
''The Guardian'' (July 31, 2020). As a result, they may sometimes be referred to as sovereign sheriffs. The movement is related to previous

nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution * Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...

and

interposition Interposition is a claimed right of a U.S. state to oppose actions of the federal government that the state deems unconstitutional. Under the theory of interposition, a state assumes the right to "interpose" itself between the federal government a ...

notions,Robert L. Tsai
The Troubling Sheriffs’ Movement That Joe Arpaio Supports
''Politico'' (September 1, 2017). and promotes such efforts. It has been described as far-right by the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...

. The CSPOA has claimed a membership of 400.

History

The association was founded in 2011 by former Arizona sheriff

Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...

who was a board member of the

Oath Keepers Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of Presidential power as prescribed by the US Constitution. ...

at the time. In 2017, the association said it had 4,500 dues-paying members, with more than 200 sheriffs among them. In 2021, Mack said that 300 of the 3,000 sheriffs in the U.S. were members of the association.

Ideology

The movement has some ideological similarities with the self-styled

patriot movement In the United States, the patriot movement is a term which is used to describe a conglomeration of non-unified right-wing populist, nationalist political movements, most notably far-right armed militias, sovereign citizens, and tax proteste ...

and

sovereign citizen movement The sovereign citizen movement (also SovCit movement or SovCits) is a loose grouping of litigants, activists, tax protesters, financial scheme promoters and conspiracy theorists, who claim to be answerable only to their particular interpret ...

, and some members of those movements also espouse "constitutional sheriff" ideology. The "constitutional sheriff" or "county supremacy" movement itself arose from the far-right Posse Comitatus, a racist and anti-Semitic group of the 1970s and 1980s that also defined the county sheriff as the highest "legitimate" authority in the country,Potok, Mark and Lenz, Ryan,
''Line in the Sand''
''Intelligence Report'', Southern Poverty Law Center (Jun. 13, 2016). and was characterized by paramilitary figures and the promotion of

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

. Sheriffs are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. The ideological basis of the sheriffs' movement is instead based on various incorrect historical and legal claims, relying on a pretense that the historic powers of the high sheriff of an English shire apply in the USA regardless of subsequent legal developments. A number of county sheriffs in the United States have expressed sympathy with the movement's goals and have publicly vowed not to enforce laws they deem unconstitutional. Law professor Robert L. Tsai writes that, "in practice constitutional sheriffs and their followers tend to occupy the edges of anti-government conservatism, organizing themselves to promote gun rights and property rights, to resist tax laws, national healthcare, gay marriage." Members of the movement have vowed not to enforce

gun laws Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to ...

, public health measures adopted to combat the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic,Brooke Wolford
Sheriffs across US are not enforcing coronavirus stay-at-home orders. Is that legal?
''Miami Herald'' (April 21, 2020). and federal land use regulations. Sheriffs who refuse to enforce land-use laws facilitate the illegal use of public land (for example, for livestock grazing or

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

s use) and in some cases have threatened Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees. A research study of reports from 1995 to 2015 found that counties with sheriffs who are members of the movement "have higher rates of violence against BLM employees than other

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

counties." The movement has attracted support from some landowners, county commissioners, law enforcement figures (in particular

and

Joe Arpaio Joseph Michael Arpaio (; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone i ...

), and some politicians who have played on "fears of federal officials intruding on property rights and gun rights."

References

{{reflist

External links

Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association

"The Renegade Sheriffs
Political organizations based in the United States Patriot movement Right-wing militia organizations in the United States Bundy standoff +