So-called “Constitutional Sheriffs” fancy themselves as the real life version of Judge Dredd: the ultimate arbiters of the law according to their interpretation of the Constitution. Recently the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) held a conference in Las Vegas. Among the speakers were regular features of the podcast disgraced former General Michael Flynn, convicted former County Clerk Tina Peters, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Our guest WIRED reporter David Gilbert attended the conference, and he told us all about what he saw at this gathering of conspiracists and pseudolaw enthusiasts.

REFERENCES

WIRED: Far-Right Sheriffs Want a Citizen Army to Stop ‘Illegal Immigrant’ Voters

https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-election-deniers-immigrants-voting/

WIRED: No, a Shadowy Figure Is Not Buying Tents for Columbia Student Protesters

https://www.wired.com/story/conspiracy-tents-student-protests-gaza/

David Gilbert on Twitter

https://twitter.com/daithaigilbert

NBC News: A sheriff, a felon and a conspiracy theorist walk into a hotel. They're there for the same conference.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/constitutional-sheriffs-las-vegas-conference-rcna147487

MassLive: Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson calls cancellation of ICE contract a ‘politically motivated attack’

https://www.masslive.com/politics/2021/06/bristol-county-sheriff-thomas-hodgson-calls-cancellation-of-ice-contract-a-politically-motivated-attack.html

Politico: The Troubling Sheriffs’ Movement That Joe Arpaio Supports

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/01/joe-arpaio-pardon-sheriffs-movement-215566/

American Oversight: The Constitutional Sheriffs Movement and Its Threat to Democracy

https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/the-constitutional-sheriffs-movement-and-its-threat-to-democracy

NBC News: Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to home detention and community service in obstruction case

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/former-colorado-county-clerk-tina-peters-sentenced-home-detention-comm-rcna79085

CBS News: Mike Lindell's MyPillow evicted from Minnesota warehouse after lawsuit claimed it was $200K behind on rent

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/lawsuit-mypillow-eviction-mike-lindell-minnesota/