A Badge and a Bible: The Dangerous Rise of Constitutional Sheriffs

In the United States, the person wearing the sheriff’s badge wields a staggering amount of power—far more than most people realize. Sheriffs run the local jails, investigate crimes, and exert a profound influence over the political culture of their counties. Yet these individuals often operate with minimal oversight and can be notoriously hard to remove from office. Now, an extremist movement known as the “constitutional sheriff” phenomenon is exploiting that lack of accountability, posing a direct threat to democracy and civil rights.

What Exactly Is a Sheriff?

Sheriffs are elected officials who serve at the county level—there are over 3,000 counties nationwide, and each typically has one sheriff. Unlike police chiefs, who answer to mayors or city councils and can be fired, sheriffs essentially have no boss but the voters. Their responsibilities often include patrolling rural areas, investigating crimes, making arrests, and running jails. This dual role is immense:

• Law enforcement – They have the power to investigate, patrol, and detain.
• Jail operations – About 85% of local jails in the U.S. are run by sheriffs. This means they control the facilities where people are held—often before trial, when they haven’t even been convicted of a crime.

Because sheriffs are elected, once they’re in office, they can leverage the authority of their badge in the political sphere—often in ways police chiefs can’t. In many states, removing a sheriff who steps out of line is exceedingly difficult, typically requiring a recall election or complicated legal procedures. In practice, recalls happen rarely, sometimes not for generations. Even blatant abuses of power—ranging from racial profiling to ignoring critical public safety measures—are often not enough to trigger removal. It’s a system ripe for exploitation.

Enter the “Constitutional Sheriff” Movement

The so-called “constitutional sheriff” movement is part of a far-right wave that has been building for more than a decade. Though it sounds like it might be about safeguarding civil liberties, in reality, it’s a coalition of anti-immigrant, anti-government (with exceptions), and pro-gun hardliners who claim that the Constitution grants sheriffs “ultimate” authority in their jurisdictions—even above state and federal governments.

A key figure in this movement is Richard Mack, a former sheriff in Graham County, Arizona, and the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). Mack and his allies travel the country spreading the gospel that the sheriff is basically a modern-day king—answerable only to voters (and supposedly, God). Their platform includes:

• Refusal to enforce certain federal laws – Especially those related to gun control and immigration.
• Strong anti-immigrant stance – Many constitutional sheriffs boast about working with federal immigration agencies to detain people, or argue for patrolling borders themselves.
• Emphasis on “states’ rights” – Interpreted to mean rejecting federal authority on issues like public health mandates, land management, or taxes (IRS enforcement).
• Open hostility toward progressive social movements – Constitutional sheriffs have attacked everything from reproductive rights to LGBTQ+ equality, peddling propaganda about “moral decay.”

Despite the name, the U.S. Constitution does not mention sheriffs at all. That hasn’t stopped these people from weaving a quasi-mythical tale about how the sheriff’s authority dates back to medieval England (and, absurdly, sometimes the Bible). Through these historical distortions, they legitimize radical ideologies and encourage local law enforcement to adopt a hard-right, hyper-masculine view of “true justice.”

Why This is So Dangerous

1. Unchecked Power
   While a police chief who spouts white supremacist or anti-immigrant rhetoric might get fired by a mayor, a sheriff can rail about “invasions” at the border, call COVID guidelines “tyranny,” or praise the idea of forming local militias—and still remain in office for years. It’s no damn wonder some of them act like feudal lords.
2. Influence Over Detention
   Sheriffs can contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold immigrants in county jails, often making money in the process. By deciding how to question detainees and whether (or how) to cooperate with ICE, sheriffs often shape local immigration policy—even in places that claim to be “sanctuaries.”
3. Fostering Extremism and Propaganda
   Constitutional sheriffs bring fringe beliefs into the mainstream by doing media appearances in full uniform, using that authority to spout reactionary talking points. They demonize immigrants, stoke Second Amendment hysteria, and feed into conspiracies about “stolen elections” or “deep state” oppression.
4. Lack of Transparency
   From the outside, it’s nearly impossible to track how sheriffs run their jails and patrols. Sheriffs aren’t typically bound by civilian review boards or city councils. Voter turnout in these county elections is low; incumbents have an enormous advantage due to name recognition; and systemic racism can further skew who holds power in these offices.

The Alliance With Right-Wing Think Tanks

The Claremont Institute, best known recently for its involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 election, has funneled resources into “Sheriff Fellowships.” Far from being purely academic, these programs are filled with anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-progressive propaganda. Claremont trains sheriffs to see themselves as culture warriors who must take up the mantle of “true American values” against so-called “woke” influences. Throw in a John Wayne movie, some chest-thumping about fighting the federal government, and you end up with a potent pipeline that indoctrinates local lawmen.

This synergy is unbelievably dangerous: Claremont provides intellectual cover (or pseudo-intellectual cover) for far-right ideology, while sheriffs bring the real-world power—handcuffs, guns, jails, the ability to arrest. It’s a mutual back-scratching arrangement where the losers are civil rights, democracy, and anyone who doesn’t fit into their rigid vision of the American West.

Fighting Back

• Election Awareness
  The simplest step is making sure voters know when sheriffs are on the ballot. We need broad public education campaigns explaining the sheriff’s role, the candidate’s platform, and the potential consequences of electing a right-wing extremist.
• Recall Laws and Legal Reforms
  States should streamline procedures for recalling sheriffs, making it easier for citizens to remove officials who commit abuses, break the law, or engage in open bigotry. This could deter some of the worst actors from pursuing radical power grabs.
• Community Oversight
  Cities often have police oversight boards; counties can do the same. Even if these boards lack the power to fire a sheriff outright, they can publicly document abuses and pressure local elected commissioners or legislatures to act.
• Public Pressure and Media Scrutiny
  We can’t ignore these fuckers who wave around the label “constitutional” like a protective shield. Journalists, activists, and everyday citizens must continue to shine a light on corruption, abuses of power, and extremist ideologies. When you see a sheriff pushing racist, xenophobic, or conspiratorial nonsense, call it out.
• Coalitions
  Progressive groups, faith organizations (including those that oppose xenophobia), civil rights advocates, and community leaders need to forge alliances. Common goals like protecting immigrants, demanding fair treatment in jails, and resisting misinformation can unite these groups in challenging unchecked sheriff power.

Closing Thoughts

At their best, sheriffs could be an elected force that truly serves and protects. Instead, far-right sheriffs, emboldened by groups like the CSPOA and the Claremont Institute, exploit America’s archaic county structures to assume near-dictatorial powers. With their overlapping roles in policing and incarceration, plus minimal oversight, they are uniquely positioned to do serious harm—from mass detention of immigrants to openly supporting militia groups. Stopping the slide into an authoritarian policing regime will require vigilance, legal reform, voter education, and a unified refusal to accept the bullshit idea that any sheriff is above the law.