RantCrush Top 5: August 1, 2017

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was found guilty yesterday of criminal contempt in a federal court in Phoenix. Arpaio, who was dubbed “America’s toughest sheriff” by conservative media, had violated a court order to stop detaining Latinos under the suspicion that they were in the United States illegally solely on the basis of race. He was also a well-known “birther” who argued that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, and actively campaigned for Trump during the 2016 election.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton found that Arpaio had understood the order to discontinue his racial profiling practices but had shown a “flagrant disregard” for it and had “willfully violated” it by continuing the practices in his department. After all, Arpaio had continued to brag about his approach to illegal immigration even after the court order.

Joe Arpaio learned his lesson the hard way — no one, not even America’s so-called “toughest sheriff,” is above the law.

— ACLU National (@ACLU) July 31, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.