In 2011, an investigation by the Department of Justice revealed that “America’s Sheriff” had overseen the “worst pattern of racial profiling by a law enforcement agency in U.S. history.” That year, a federal court ordered Arpaio to stop defying federal immigration law. And yet there are allegations his deputies continued to do so despite the order. Today, according to ABC News, prosecutors in a Phoenix federal court announced they will charge the sheriff with criminal contempt of court for refusing to end his notorious immigration patrols and roundups.
Arpaio is known for his racial profiling and arrest of Latinos, rounding them up in tents that he himself has referred to as concentration camps. The fervor of his anti-immigration stance has made him a favorite of the Trump campaign; most prominently, he appeared at the Republican National Convention.
The charges come weeks before an Arizona election in which Arpaio is hoping to continue a seventh term as the Maricopa County sheriff, as well as a national election that will hopefully mark the end of the political career of his most famous backer.