Prominent civil rights and advocacy groups issued a warning to Arizona’s governor and attorney general, a rule that effectively lowers the bar for extremist groups seeking to radicalize law enforcement officials through government-funded training. I couldn’t stop the change.

letter sent in March from Institute for Constitutional Defense and Protection, Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center It asked the governor’s office and other state agencies to intervene before the rule comes into effect on April 5. They warned that it would create a loophole that could be exploited by domestic extremist groups.

Controversial rule change First reported by AZCIR In 2022, take responsibility for overseeing continuing education training. Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission To the head of law enforcement. AZPOST previously denied at least one extremist group conducting such training in 2021.

In one of the letters, also addressed to the U.S. Department of Justice, the group expressed concern over the removal of long-standing safeguards and criticized extremist and conspiratorial policies endorsed by Arizona public officials, including elected sheriffs. increased rhetoric. Advocacy and civil rights groups join the NAACP’s Arizona chapter, Letter to AZPOST December 2022 against the shift.

“The amended rule will allow Arizona peace officers to support the ‘Constitutional Sheriff’ movement and other relationships urging local law enforcement to give more authority than the law allows.” We are deeply concerned about the potential for training from others,” wrote Mary McCord, executive director of ICAP at Georgetown University Law Centera nonpartisan institution focused on protecting constitutional rights and the democratic process.

McCord said such taxpayer-funded training “puts residents at risk of inappropriate activity by county security officials” and “risks harm from abuse by law enforcement.” It warned that it poses a particular threat to “the tallest” brown and black communities.

The letter cites a previous AZCIR report on a group of so-called ‘Constitutional Sheriffs’. Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers AssociationThe group was built on the idea that the sheriff’s powers replaced those of higher government agencies such as the president and the U.S. Supreme Court, and that sheriffs were obligated to nullify laws that were construed to be unconstitutional. is part of a national movement that

Civil rights and advocacy groups have highlighted numerous links between the CSPOA and various hate groups, some of which the NAACP has condemned. CSPOA member As a “prominent anti-Semite, QAnon conspiracy theorist, white supremacist, and new ally.”

“If the revised rules come into force, we fear, based on previous actions, that extremists in the country will rush to take advantage of this opportunity.” ADL Arizonaa state-level chapter of a national organization that fights hate groups in the United States

Rachel Goldwasser, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the rule change is a blueprint for creating workarounds to allow extremist groups to train law enforcement in other states. warned that it could be used as

The Hobbes administration did not directly address such concerns in a statement emailed to AZCIR.

“Governor Hobbes is adamantly opposed to extremist groups providing training to law enforcement and believes no credit should be given for training conducted by extremists,” Hobbes said. Communications Director Christian Slater writes:

Slater stressed that the new rule was enacted under Hobbes’ predecessor, former Gov. Doug Ducey, but the current administration “is working with AZPOST to monitor the situation and train law enforcement officers.” We are making sure that we are using all legal means available to protect us from extremists.” ”

In an email reply, Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays agreed with Hobbes’ assessment of the situation and promised to counter extremist ideology.

“As Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the State of Arizona and a member of the AZPOST Board of Directors, I will work closely with other Board members, AZPOST leaders, Governor Hobbes, and local law enforcement leaders to ensure continued action. We are committed to ensuring that decisions about education are appropriate and relevant, meeting the high standards we set for law enforcement professionals in our state,” Mayes wrote.

Both the governor and the Attorney General ask what mechanisms are in place to prevent extremist groups from taking advantage of loopholes, or to mitigate harm to law enforcement if extremist training occurs. It doesn’t go into detail about what you can do.

The ADL confirmed it had not received a response from Hobbes’ office until the rule change went into effect, but a spokesperson said the group “understood the concerns raised by the governor’s office in our letter.” , we have every reason to believe that they are taking them seriously.” Slater said the governor’s office met with his ADL, ICAP and SPLC, but did not specify when.

AZPOST executive director Matt Giordano also met with state NAACP representatives, but nothing substantive changed as a result, according to an email obtained by AZCIR. Instead, Giordano confirmed that the board is not responsible for approving local law enforcement continuing education credits, and that the group approves training proposed by law enforcement leaders. He declined to be interviewed for this story.

Giordano said the agency conducts an annual audit of the training, according to Arizona NAACP attorney Dianne Post, who attended the meeting.

“You can train, raise local funding, and wait a year or more before being discovered,” said Post, who wrote the NAACP letter. “AZPOST has already washed its hands.”

Post-training audits are in stark contrast to AZPOST’s previous role of preemptively safeguarding training quality. ”

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Danells, a principal speaker at the 2019 CSPOA event and AZPOST board chair, declined to comment on the story. However, after receiving the letter from the NAACP, Dannels “supported the CSPOA” at a criminal justice conference hosted by civil rights groups, according to Anthony Isom, who is chairman of the NAACP’s Huachuca Regional Chapter Criminal Justice Committee. I denied it.” .

In a letter, the ADL, SPLC and NAACP expressed concern that more than half of Arizona sheriffs are at least partially sympathetic to the constitutional sheriff movement. 2022 report.

“Unfortunately, Arizona has a strong extremist presence in Congress, the sheriff’s office, and the general public,” said SPLC analyst Goldwasser. “If these extremists have an opportunity to spread their ideology, they often exploit it.”

Three of the four letters knew of their ties to the CSPOA and also issued a warning regarding CSPOA frontman Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. save America nowanother so-called “Constitutional Sheriff” organization.

Lamb, who announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in April, has appeared on numerous right-leaning news networks and podcasts to speak on everything from the Second Amendment and border security to the integrity of the election, leading the nation’s campaign. We have increased our presence. He has also appeared in more extreme shows, including one supporting the QAnon conspiracy.

“Extreme ideologies have been mainstreamed and standardized at an alarming pace in recent years,” writes Kader of Arizona ADL. “This is largely due to elected officials and other public figures increasingly buying and selling conspiracies and hatred.”

During the 2022 Election, Protect America Now and CSPOA will true votea controversial election-monitoring group based in Texas, Expanding the Sheriff’s Role Election Integrity and Security Beyond Existing Jurisdictions. Lamb has reduced public rhetoric about election denial, but not CSPOA founder Richard Mack and his organization.

“Since the 2020 election, Mack and his allies have sought to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud, increasing the likelihood that sheriffs affiliated with the CSPOA will attempt to intimidate voters in future elections. ‘ McCord wrote.

But the threat posed by the CSPOA’s infiltration of law enforcement goes beyond elections.

“Local law enforcement is an essential partner in combating the nationwide rise in political violence that targets free elections, public health policies, marginalized populations, and American democracy itself.” McCord writes, “But to function as effective partners in protecting the constitutional system, law enforcement must have accurate information about the boundaries of its powers.”

This article first appeared on Arizona Investigative Reporting Center Republished here under a Creative Commons license.