Robert Tsai, a constitutional law professor at Boston University, told me he sees Protect America Now as political in nature an effort to leverage sheriffs in mainstream Republican politics, while also branding [sheriffs] for future political careers. Lamb says Protect America Now is not a political organization, but that its efforts are viewed as political sometimes. Yet Protect America Now, a 501(c)4, was founded in June 2020 by a group that includes Nathan Sproul, an Arizona-based Republican strategist. He graduated from the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy as the #1 overall police recruit and was voted by his fellow officers as the class exemplary officer. Babeu's Twitter page still presents him as a sheriff. Lamb, who oversees a medium-sized sheriffs office with 650 employees and a $39 million annual budget, sums up his core beliefs, on everything from immigration to policing to guns, as supporting the rule of law. He repeated the phrase often during our conversations. Sheriff Paul Babeu is a decorated lawman, Iraq war veteran, and a corruption fighter. Paul Babeu, Outed GOP Candidate, On Same-Sex Marriage: 'You Can't He flashes a Hollywood smile as he talks about the shine on the badge. Many of the episodes are filmed in a low-budget style and feature Lamb as a guide, introducing viewers to other sheriffs in Nevada and Arizona. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. [24], A spokesman for Babeu denied the allegations and described them as "sensationalist". Babeu is vice president of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association[15] and was named the National Sheriff of the Year in 2011 by the National Sheriffs' Association. Babeu, who subsequently came out as gay, denied making threats, and a state attorney general investigation later cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing, concluding that the allegations were not supported by the facts. In 2016, Babeu ran for Congress; he lost, but the sheriff spot was left open for Lamb, who defeated Babeus anointed successor in the primary and took the general election. ", Babeu: "You have crossed the line. Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu drops bid for Congress after fallout from Pinal County Sheriff's Office Captain Jeffrey Karns, who retired today, lambasted Sheriff Paul Babeu in an e-mail he sent not only to Babeu, but to all PCSO staff. [16] Babeu led the third largest sheriff's office in Arizona with 700 full-time employees. The following February, Jose Orozco, who was an undocumented immigrant, claimed that Babeu and Orozco had been lovers since meeting in 2006 on an online dating site. local news and culture, Monica Alonzo Lambs nose for PR is apparent, and it extends beyond Protect America Now. The case was settled in April 2018, according to court records. Sheriff Paul Babeu outed in homosexual scandal by Mexican lover According to sources with knowledge of the interviews, agents have asked about Sheriff Babeus use of a non-profit foundation run by some PCSO employees that received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds that come from this seized criminal money. Forfeiture laws, in general, created a multimillion-dollar "slush fund available to (law enforcement) with little or no oversight," the lawsuit said. Last month, the Goldwater Institute, a conservative Arizona watchdog group, echoed concerns over Pinal Countys RICO spending and requested files from the Sheriff and County Attorney. ", A couple of minutes later, Babeu followed with: "And you say you have loved me? Paul Babeu - Wikipedia On October 23, 2011, Babeu announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for U.S. Congress in what would become Arizona's newly redrawn 4th congressional district. Grand jury investigates Paul Babeu's use of RICO funds as Pinal County Photos by Doug Barrett/@400northcreative for Politico Magazine. He was Pinal County's first Republican sheriff. FBI probe of Babeu and former Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles. [11][12], Babeu joined the Massachusetts National Guard as a 21-year-old. There are restrictions about how these funds can be used. Pinal CountySheriff Mark Lamb said Wednesday that RICO funds no longer serve as a slush fund. There was an older Latino man named Randy wearing a snap-pocket shirt who had recently retired from a wild horse-and-burro program at the nearby prison and asked Lamb if he knew any cowboys. That morning I came home, and I told my wife I was gonna be a cop, he concluded. Babeu pulled out of the 2012 race in the middle of the debacle and set his sights lower, vying for - and winning - re-election as sheriff. According to Babeu's website, "Pinal County is the number one pass through county in all of America for drug and human smuggling. Orozco says he complied but that Babeu and his attorney also wanted Orozco to sign a document that would bind him legally to keep silent about the relationship. Raymond Babeu was a longtime employee of the area's electric utility who was also active in local politics. [9] The school was in a long legal fight with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts over licensing, allegations of child abuse, a Commonwealth-imposed enrollment freeze, and accusations of failing to create a safe environment for its students. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. For example, Lamb, an ardent defender of the Second Amendment, has spoken in support of the formation of private militias well within the Constitution, he told a group of supporters in March and emphasized the power of sheriffs in Arizona, an open-carry state, to call local civilians into service to suppress all affrays, insurrections and riots that comes to the attention of the sheriff. Last year, as Black Lives Matter protests swept across the country, he formed a local civilian posse to assist his office with law enforcement, even though there were no such protests in Pinal County. Thats illegal. Sheriff Paul Babeu is the Sheriff of Pinal County in Arizona. PHOENIX - Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu comes out and admits he's gay on Saturday a day after he's accused of a major scandal. Karns, promoted to captain in 2002, writes that Babeu's move is about gaining for himself "total and complete control and support, operationally and politically.". Congressman and have endorsed one of his rivals for the GOP primary in Arizona's First. Sheriff Babeu won his first term in a landslide election victory in 2008 over the incumbent Sheriff. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's campaign launched a counterattack late Monday on a key source for a story broadcast Sunday by a Phoenix TV station. Lamb says the network takes its inspiration from Live PD, an A&E show that ran from 2016 until 2020, when it was canceled after deputies in Williamson County, Texas, were caught on camera tasing a man named Javier Ambler, and ultimately killing him. While some Pinal County residents say Lambs involvement in politics and entertainment has gone too far, the county voted overwhelmingly to reelect him last year. In his book, he describes spending much of his childhood in Hawaii, where, he told me, I was a minority., Lamb, an ardent defender of the Second Amendment, practices at a shooting range in Pinal County, Ariz. The county also enjoys relatively low levels of crime. The pandemic has given Lamb, like much of the GOP, a new pet cause. (FAIR has dismissed the characterization, calling the SPLC a partisan attack dog.) Earlier this summer, Lamb gathered some two dozen other sheriffs for a Protect America Now rally along the border in Arizona, where he declared, We are standing up for the Constitution, our oath and the rights of the people.. DENNIS LAMBERT: The sheriff says he's running for re-election to continue the programs he began four years ago, and because of problems with the candidacy of the man he wanted to replace him, his Chief Deputy Steve Henry. Paul Babeu's Mexican Ex-Lover Says Sheriff's Attorney Threatened Him ", (After this story was published online February 17, Babeu and DeRose denied Orozco and his lawyer's threat-of-deportation allegations, and under pressure the sheriff came out as a gay man and admitted that he'd had an affair with Orozco. He was Pinal County's first Republican sheriff. Attorneys for Babeu, Voyles and his former chief of staff, Dwight Fujimoto, accused Volkmer of making false claims. On Jan. 6, the day rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington, Lamb appeared at a rally in Phoenix to protest the presidential election results. Help us fight for you and support local journalism.Subscribe to azcentral.com today. The lawsuit claimed the county agencies were misusing RICO funds and funneling money through the Arizona Public Safety Foundation. Wont work. Two weeks before, in mid-June, the temperature was a newsworthy 110-plus degrees. Sheriff Paul Babeu: Arizona border hawk, rising conservative star [27], Babeu dropped his congressional bid on May 11, 2012; instead he sought re-election as sheriff. Lambs first law enforcement job was with the Salt River Police Department in neighboring Maricopa County beginning in 2006. Lamb said he had no opinion on the AG's decision not to prosecuteBabeu and Voyles. The back of Lambs black Chevy Silverado 2500 HD contains his workaday weaponry, including an AR-15 SBR. Babeu and Voyles this month demanded an apology from Volkmer, Questions about the foundation also were raised in a 2015 federal lawsuit, Babeu spent more than $53,000 to send 25 people to a weeklong conference in St. Louis, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Burghart, the researcher of far-right movements, sees Protect America Now and the coalition it is building as a dangerous force, arguing the group represents the next step for the constitutional sheriff movement and its elevation of the power of sheriffs. Next door in Pinal County, Lamb embraced Arpaios anti-immigrant bent; before long he appeared, sure enough, on Fox News to talk about the border crisis (though Pinal County is not on the U.S.-Mexico border), and deployed officers and equipment to help federal authorities with immigration enforcement. Senator John McCain and U.S. | Shutterstock. | Doug Barrett for POLITICO. Lamb won office the same year Sheriff Arpaio was defeated in Maricopa. Lamb has appeared multiple times with Trump at the White House and other political events. His own sisters told people not to vote for him. Now he's a GOP local news and culture. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu announces run for Congress He led Barrett by just 145 votes. The audit highlighted 31 awards, totaling $683,406 that went to the Arizona Public Safety Foundation. They said he accused them of criminal conduct. Time on the screen says 5:02 p.m. . Contact. Lamb, too, is on the advisory committee, but hes also the groups most prominent public representative. Two of Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's Sisters Endorse His Rival The trailer for the new network features lots of shots of Lamb, his profile against a desert sunset as the camera pans slowly over the shadows of cacti. A three-member committee made up of a detention officer, a sheriff's sergeant and a civilian review all requests for RICO funds.
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