ON A GLORIOUS SATURDAY in October, about 75 people gather inside an airy insulation installer’s warehouse on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, ready for a daylong lesson in resisting tyranny. The mostly white, middle-aged crowd sports Trump 2024 hats and shirts extolling the Second Amendment—but no masks.
As attendees grab donuts and coffee, the event’s headliner, Richard Mack, founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), genially chats with them and hawks his self-published books, including The County Sheriff: America’s Last Hope. Tall and tan at almost 69, Mack has the look of an aging game show host and carries himself with the self-assurance of a minor celebrity. He has deep, decades-long ties to militia and extremist groups. He even wrote the foreword to a book by his friend Randy Weaver, the white separatist whose wife and son were shot by federal agents during an 11-day 1992 standoff at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
Mack’s organization is made up of hundreds of elected sheriffs and supporters who promote the idea that these county officials have the right to refuse to enforce laws they deem unconstitutional—such as most federal gun laws—and to call up citizen militias to help keep the peace. In their jurisdictions, Mack believes sheriffs supersede the president of the United States.
This story is from the January/February 2022 edition of Mother Jones.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January/February 2022 edition of Mother Jones.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FOOD FOR THOUGHT - CRIME OF THE CROP
Will GMOs harm my kids? Your pediatrician's response might not be grounded in science.
ECONUNDRUMS - CHATBOT QUACKS
AI was supposed to fix online health misinformation. Instead, it's making it worse.
WELL PLAYED
One man’s mission to make gaming a little less white
FIGHTING CHANCE
RUBEN GALLEGO'S BATTLE AGAINST KARI LAKE COULD DECIDE THE FATE OF THE SENATE-AND DEMOCRACY ITSELF. NO PRESSURE.
BLUUD MONEY
Tommy Alba could be a pain in the ass.
Become Ungovernable
The spectacular implosion of the Libertarian Party
Spoiler Alert
Third-party candidates never win national elections, but they can still have serious consequences.
THE DEMOCRACY BOMB
A day ahead of the third anniversary of January 6, President Joe Biden traveled to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-where George Washington encamped during the Revolutionary War-before delivering what he described as a \"deadly serious\" speech framing the stakes of the 2024 election.
OH CRAP - SLUDGE REPORT
Can Maine lead the way to a future without forever chemicals?
JERSEY BOYS - AGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Young voters are powering Rep. Andy Kim's challenge to Trenton's powers that be.