President Trump Pardons Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio

By RJ Johnson - @rickerthewriter

August 26, 2017

President Donald Trump has followed through on his promise to pardon Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio was recently convicted of criminal contempt for failing to follow a judge's orders to stop detaining people he merely suspected of being illegal immigrants. Trump's pardon is unusual in that Arpaio has yet to be sentenced. 

The White House released a statement explaining Arpaio's pardon:

"Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is [a] worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon," the White House said in part in a press release.

Arpaio acted as the sheriff of Maricopa County from 1993 through 2016 gaining notoriety for his unconventional approach to punishments for his prisoners and hardline stances on immigration. In 2013, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the county arresting and jailing undocumented immigrants was discriminatory and in violation of the Civil Rights Act. The ruling later led to a contempt charge after Arpaio's office refused to stop the practice. Arpaio was found guilty on July 31st and was awaiting sentencing before Trump's pardon today.

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