Trump reportedly considering controversial sheriffs Joe Arpaio and David Clark to head Homeland Security

According to reports, president-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team is considering controversial Milwaukee Sheriff David Clark and outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio as possible heads of the Department of Homeland Security.

Arpaio lost his reelection on Tuesday, but has made a name for himself on the Trump campaign trail. In late October, Arpaio was charged with criminal contempt of court for refusing to obey a federal court’s order to stop his signature immigration patrols, which many claimed violated the civil rights of Latinos because they were being racially profiled.

From Right Wing Watch:

Arpaio brags about running a “concentration camp” for his detainees and has a record of withholding basic medical care from prisoners and flouting sanitary standards. His office has reportedly ignored over 400 sex-crime casestargeted Latino residents and neighborhoodsstalked Latina women and retaliated against those who criticized Arpaio.

In one case, members of Arpaio’s department staged a hoax assassination attempt against the sheriff to enhance his popularity, framing an innocent man in the process. Arpaio hired people with records of domestic violence and child sex crimes to work in his armed “posse” guarding schools in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.

The sheriff also tapped birther conspiracy theorists to form a “cold case posse” to investigate the truth behind President Obama’s birth certificate, and unsurprisingly concluded that it was a fake.

Many agree that Arpaio’s confirmation is unlikely, considering his legal problems.

Clark, who is an outspoken Trump supporter and Black Lives Matter critic, raised eyebrows in October when he suggested in a tweet that the people take up pitchforks and torches in the event of a “rigged” election.

According to Right Wing Watch, Clark has used his platform as a Fox News pundit to attack BLM, which he’s described as a lawless, “subversive” and somehow linked to ISIS, going on to say that they’re composed of “black slime” that must be “eradicated.”

Clarke has quite a large following among right-wing circles, especially after speaking at the Republican National Convention in Ohio, declaring, “Blue lives matter.”

According to the Washington Post, other names being considered for Homeland Security Secretary are Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who leads Trump’s transition team.

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Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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