鈥楽heriff of the Year鈥� Says Government is Greater Threat than Terrorists
A Wisconsin sheriff who says the federal government is a greater threat than terrorists has been named 鈥淪heriff of the Year鈥� by the (CSPOA), an antigovernment 鈥淧atriot鈥� group whose members have vowed to stand up to the federal government if it attempts to restrict gun rights.
Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County, Wis., made headlines this January when he released a public service announcement calling on his constituents to arm themselves. Safety, he said, is 鈥渘o longer a spectator sport. 鈥� You have a duty to protect yourself and your family.鈥�
In a second ad, Clarke said Milwaukee residents were endangered by a court system that is 鈥渟oft on crime鈥� and puts violent offenders back on the streets. 鈥淎re you the next victim? You don鈥檛 have to be, but that鈥檚 your call,鈥� he said.
Clarke鈥檚 taxpayer-funded ads, released in the midst of a national debate聽over gun control,聽were music to the ears聽of the CSPOA, whose members suggest that the federal government plans to confiscate privately owned firearms and institute a totalitarian regime.
Founded in 2011, CSPOA is the brainchild of former Arizona sheriff聽Richard Mack, who became a hero to the radical right in the 1990s when he successfully challenged certain provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Mack, who says he has persuaded more than 470 of the nation鈥檚 3,080 sheriffs and sheriffs鈥� associations in 18 states to sign a pledge to 鈥渙ppose and disallow鈥� new gun measures, has said that the 鈥済reatest threat we face today is not terrorists; it is our own federal government.鈥�
Clarke agrees with Mack鈥檚 assessment, he said in an interview with Milwaukee鈥檚 WISN 12 News in May. Noting the low odds of being killed by terrorists 鈥� and mentioning the IRS鈥� singling out of conservative groups for extra scrutiny, government wiretaps on Associated Press writers, the national debt, and other issues that have recently animated the right 鈥� Clarke said, 鈥淸O]n an everyday basis, to me, federal government is a bigger threat. I could make the case, and I think I just did.鈥�
