 | |
| Formation | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Richard Mack |
| Membership | 4,500 (in 2017)[1] |
| Website | cspoa |
TheConstitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is a political organization of localpolice officials in theUnited States who contend that federal and state government authorities are subordinate to the local authority of countysheriffs andpolice. Self-described constitutional sheriffs assert that they are the supreme legal authority with the power and duty to defy or disregard laws they regard asunconstitutional.[2][3] As a result, they may sometimes be referred to assovereign sheriffs.[4] The movement is related to previousnullification andinterposition notions,[1] and promotes such efforts.[5] It has been described asfar-right by theSouthern Poverty Law Center.[6]
The association was founded in 2011 by formerArizona sheriffRichard Mack who was a board member of theOath Keepers at the time.[7]
By 2023, the association was being led bySam Bushman, who has been scrutinized for his affiliation withneo-Confederates andwhite nationalists, including a close friendship with radio hostJames Edwards.[8]
The CSPOA has claimed various membership numbers. In 2017, the association said it had 4,500 dues-paying members, with more than 200 sheriffs among them.[1] In 2020, the group claimed a membership of 400.[3] In 2021, Mack said that 300 of the 3,000 sheriffs in the U.S. were members of the association.[7] However, no reliable numbers are available as, according to theAssociated Press, details of the group's operations, including membership numbers, are closely held.[9]
The movement has some ideological similarities with the self-styledpatriot movement andsovereign citizen movement, and some members of those movements also espouse "constitutional sheriff" ideology.[10][1] The "constitutional sheriff" or "county supremacy" movement itself arose from thefar-rightPosse Comitatus, a racist andanti-Semitic group of the 1970s and 1980s that also defined the county sheriff as the highest "legitimate" authority in the country,[1][6] and was characterized byparamilitary figures and the promotion ofconspiracy theories.[1] Sheriffs are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.[11] 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 thehigh sheriff of an Englishshire apply in the U.S. regardless of subsequent legal developments.[1]
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.[2] 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."[1] Members of the movement have vowed not to enforcegun laws,[12] public health measures adopted to combat the2020 COVID-19 pandemic,[2][3][13] and federal land use regulations.[3] Sheriffs who refuse to enforce land-use laws facilitate the illegal use of public land (for example, for livestock grazing orall-terrain vehicles use) and in some cases have threatenedBureau of Land Management (BLM) employees.[3] 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 otherWestern counties."[3]
The movement has attracted support from some landowners,county commissioners, law enforcement figures (in particularRichard Mack andJoe Arpaio), and some politicians who have played on "fears of federal officials intruding on property rights and gun rights."[1]
In the aftermath of the 2020 election,Barry County, Michigan Sheriff Dar Leaf, a member of the constitutional sheriffs movement, tried to seize voting machines in an effort to prove election fraud. He also took legal action in December 2020, attempting to stop local clerks from deleting election records. The chief judge of the federal court inGrand Rapids denied the request.[14]
In the run-up to the 2024 election the group has been training armed militias, building ties toTrump supporters and building “posses” to patrol polling stations.[15]