Free Republic

Every sheriff in Utah has signed a letter vowing to protect Second Amendment rights and advising citizens that they are working to “prevent and prepare for potential violence.” While talk of gun control on Capitol Hill has temporarily taken a backseat to other initiatives, such as “infrastructure,” the men and women of law enforcement are staying ahead of the game in the event that any anti-gun legislation makes it through Congress. Every single Utah sheriff signed a letter released this week by the president of the Utah Sheriffs’ Association, Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen. Jensen had promised to fight for...

Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republicans has signed a bill that prohibits police officers within the state from enforcing federal gun laws. “It is our time to protect the Second Amendment,” Parson declared. “This is exactly what this bill does, and it’s time to get this thing signed and get it into law.” Mike Brown, co-founder of Frontier Justice shooting range said, where the legislation was signed said “While some people may not spend a lot of time thinking about the Second Amendment, it’s critical to the preservation of our republic.” Meanwhile, Democrats in Missouri were not happy about the...

President Joe Biden might be facing a major amount of resistance from law enforcement if he begins cracking down on gun rights with far-left policies. 29 sheriffs in Utah have signed a statement in which they promise to protect their residents’ Second Amendment rights. The statement also warns Utah to be somewhat skeptical of any legislation that could infringe on their constitutional rights, as reported. The 29 Utah sheriffs say they will do everything in their power to protect the constitutional rights of their residents both as a collective and as individuals.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales is gaining national attention for a video he posted on YouTube saying some politicians are turning “everyday citizens into villains for simply attempting to live their lives,” and his department will not enforce any orders that “subvert your constitutional rights.” The video was featured in a Fox News segment Tuesday morning, along with commentary from a former national public affairs director who applauded the sheriff and erroneously referred to the governor as “Michelle Lujan.” The courts have not found the state’s public health orders to be unconstitutional in any cases to date. The governor’s authority...

The Supreme Court said Thursday that federal agents can be forced to pay out of their own pocket for religious liberty violations. The decision allows three Muslim men to seek monetary damages from FBI agents who allegedly placed them on the no-fly list as retaliation for turning down requests to become informants. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. "This is a good decision that makes it easier to hold the government accountable when it violates Americans' religious liberties," said Lori Windham of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs.

Two Georgia sheriffs are offering their office's investigators to the secretary of state to help him look into cases of voter fraud in the recent election. On Facebook, Oconee County Sheriff Scott R. Berry said he and other sheriffs "stand ready to vigorously investigate voter fraud across this State and to ensure everyone's vote counts." According to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, his office has over 250 open cases related to the election. These elections included possible double voting, absentee ballot fraud, and other allegations. The secretary of state's office only has 23 investigators, but Raffensperger requested assistance from the...

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is blasting Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in a new video statement after the governor threatened to withhold funding to counties refusing to enforce the governor's latest round of coronavirus lockdowns. Sheriff Bianco accused the governor of being both hypocritical and dictatorial, and said the Riverside County Sheriff's Department would not be "blackmailed, bullied, or used as muscle against Riverside County residents." "The dictatorial attitude toward California residents while dining in luxury, traveling, keeping his business open, and sending his kids to in-person private schools is very telling about his attitude toward California residents, his feelings...

Sheriffs in 5 Southern California counties with a total population of 17.25 million people – equivalent to the fifth most populous state – are defying that state’s governor. They will not arrest people for violating the statewide curfew that Governor Gavin Newsom has imposed starting today, apparently on the belief that the virus wakes up, and goes out at 10 PM. ... Some city police departments are also demurring: ... Newsom has lost all credibility for restricting activity in the name of suppressing the spread of Covid. He was caught and exposed flouting his own ridiculous strictures on eating in...

Oh no they didn’t, oh YES THEY DID! What a novel idea, standing up for the constitution and giving the finger to elected officials that are trampling it. For example, closing my Fing business or telling me I can’t go to church UNCONSTITUTIONAL! https://twitter.com/Godwins1234/status/1328460873208393740

Sheridan told Breitbart News, “I will enforce people’s constitutional rights to peaceably protest. However, as soon as someone throws a rock or a bottle that is not longer a peaceful protest. I will declare it an unlawful assembly and immediately disperse the crowd before it becomes a riot.” He said, “I will have jail buses, that we transport inmates in, lined up in row to arrest the people that do not disperse [if the protest becomes riotous].” “I’m not fooling around with this. These rioters, they don’t just attack Republican businesses. They don’t just attack and destroy and burn and...

"On Sunday, August 30th, I read that Governor Kate Brown announced a new plan to address the lawlessness happening in Portland. I was surprised to read that the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office was part of the plan since the Governor’s Office never contacted me. Had Governor Brown discussed her plan with my office, I would have told her it’s about changing policy not adding resources. Increasing law enforcement resources in Portland will not solve the nightly violence and now, murder. The only way to make Portland safe again, is to support a policy that holds offenders accountable for their destruction...

CLACKAMAS, Ore. – The sheriffs of Clackamas and Washington County say they will not send staff to help with protests in Portland after Oregon Governor Kate Brown unveiled a plan to address the violence at protests.... Clackamas Co. Sheriff Craig Roberts said the governor didn’t approach his office before rolling out the plan, intended to address the violence and arson while also protecting free speech. “Increasing law enforcement resources in Portland will not solve the nightly violence and now, murder,” the sheriff said. “The only way to make Portland safe again, is to support a policy that holds offenders accountable...

The open letter by Sheriff Daniel J. Coverley has touched off the expected media outrage and fake news heavy breathing because of its final paragraph, in which he states, "Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help. I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior, since those are just some of the recent calls my office has assisted you with in the past." But the letter's previous six paragraphs elaborate at length why...

State and local leaders reacted with swift condemnation Tuesday to reports that President Donald Trump may send federal forces to the Duke City. Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, meanwhile, headed to the White House, ensnaring himself in the controversy. Gonzales is scheduled to meet with Trump Wednesday – a visit that is being condemned by Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is calling for his resignation, and other fellow Democrats. The news set off a firestorm among city and state leaders, who expressed concern that the federal officers were being sent here to quell protests and would use violent tactics that have been shown...

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff says he will deputize every gun owner in his county to put down any violent protests his deputies can’t handle alone. Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels gave no indication in a three-minute video released Wednesday that any demonstrations are planned in his suburban Jacksonville county. Daniels also said he would protect any peaceful protests, but added that if anyone starts “tearing up Clay County, that is not going to be acceptable.”

Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill say local police who do not enforce gun control measures likely to pass in Virginia should face prosecution and even threats of the National Guard. After November's Virginia Legislature elections that led to Democrats taking control of both chambers, the gun control legislation proposed by some Democrats moved forward, including universal background checks, an “assault weapons” ban, and a red flag law. Legal firearm owners in the state, however, joined with their sheriffs to form Second Amendment sanctuary counties, which declare the authorities in these municipalities uphold the Second Amendment in the face of any...

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office will not be enforcing the statewide order Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday requiring masks and face coverings in public as coronavirus cases continue to increase in California. In a statement Friday, the Sheriff’s Office recommended people should be “exercising safe practices” during the pandemic, including wearing masks, but said it would be “inappropriate” to criminally enforce the governor’s order, or target people and businesses for failing to do so. “Due to the minor nature of the offense, the potential for negative outcomes during enforcement encounters, and anticipating the various ways in which the order may...

"This is the third law enforcement agency I’ve been head of," Williams, who is black, told CNN. "Every agency I’ve gone to, I’ve required every officer who carries a Taser to be Tased with it, so that you understand the incapacitation." Five seconds; 1,001, 1,002, 1,003, 1,004, 1,005. That's five whole seconds [when] if an officer is hit with that Taser that he, all of his muscles will be locked up and he'll have the inability to move and to respond. And yet he is still responsible for every weapon on his belt. So, if that officer had been hit,...

Karl Manke, the 77-year-old folk-hero barber who stood up against the empress governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, has been vindicated in court. A judge ruled on Thursday that the health department failed to show that Manke’s business cutting hair was a specific threat to public health. Manke faced incredible harassment, including police intimidation and losing his license. Not even that stopped him. The Washington Times reported Manke’s reaction. Manke, 77, has received at least two tickets for violating Whitmer’s orders, and his barber license was suspended last week. Nonetheless, he said he’s still cutting hair – “Oh, heavens yes” –...

The ruling says the state's top health official exceeded her statutory authority by ordering "nonessential" businesses to close. Ohio's COVID-19 lockdown is illegal, a state judge ruled today, because it exceeds the powers granted by the statute under which it was imposed. Responding to a May 8 lawsuit filed by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law on behalf of 35 gyms, Lake County Court of Common Pleas Judge Eugene Lucci enjoined Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton from penalizing the plaintiffs or similar businesses for violating the lockdown, provided "they operate in compliance with all applicable safety regulations."