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U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho Praises President Trump for Pardoning Sheriff Arpaio

In a Facebook post Sunday morning, Yoho expressed his support for President Donald Trumps' pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted for criminal contempt in a racial profiling case July 31 and faced up to 6 months in jail.

Yoho shared a Fox News article about the pardon, along with the following comment:

“For too long, the federal government has rolled out unfunded mandates and crafted impossible laws; laws that our dedicated law enforcement must uphold to their best abilities. Sheriff Arpaio has a long record of upholding his Constitutional duties and protecting the community he served. The National circus that is unfolding around an unsound misdemeanor charge is clearly a distraction from the bigger issue of the failures in Washington. I applaud President Trump for taking decisive action.”

Yoho could not be reached for additional comment on Sunday.

Arpaio was sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, for 24 years until losing re-election last year. His conviction was part of a racial-profiling case with attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and others arguing Arpaio and his deputies targeted Latinos during traffic stops.

In 2011, prior to the case going to trial, Arpaio was ordered by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to stop detaining people on the suspicion they were in the country illegally. They were ordered to only arrest people if they had broken a state law.

Arpaio and his deputies continued their policing tactics that Snow had in 2013 ordered them to change after he discovered the department used race as a factor when making arrests.

According to trial testimony, 171 people were illegally detained by Arpaio’s deputies and handed over to federal immigration authorities after Snow ordered them to stop.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton found Arpaio guilty of criminal contempt of court July 31. Bolton said he showed “flagrant disregard” for another federal judge’s order and was scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5.

Trump seemed to hint a presidential pardon would soon come for the former sheriff when he spoke at a rally in Arizona Friday.

“Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?” Trump asked the crowd and was answered with a roar. “He should’ve had a jury, but you know what? I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s gonna be just fine, OK?”

Ramsey is a reporter for WUFT who can be reached by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.