Department of Homeland Security
Sheriff David Clarke, Who Can't Even Keep People Alive in One Jail, Joining Trump's Department of Homeland Security
What do you get when four people die in your jail? A job in the Trump administration.
Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke—an avowed enemy of the Black Lives Matter movement, the "fake news" media, and basic civil rights for jail inmates—will be joining the Trump administration as an assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security.
While that's no doubt good news for the citizens of Milwaukee—where Clarke stands accused of allowing an inmate to die of thirst after being denied water for 7 days—it's a worrisome development for the country. Clarke, a Trump surrogate who campaigned fiercely for the president, opposes criminal justice reform efforts supported by libertarian-leaning Republican congressmen like Sen. Rand Paul, and is generally a civil libertarian's worst nightmare.
"Reform flies in the face of getting tough on crime," Clarke said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2016.
Consider Clarke's recent tweets, in which he: criticizes the Obama administration for encouraging cops to be more careful about the use of force; claims that Trump's recently difficulties represent "the establishment" trying to "nullify the will of We the People"; promises that Trump will "beat back the swamp people" who are mounting an "all out assault"; retweets someone calling The Washington Post a "serious threat and Enemy of America"; and applauds Attorney General Jeff Sessions for instructing prosecutors to apply mandatory minimum sentencing.
Simply put, Clarke is a crazy person who really doesn't care very much about civil liberties, or perhaps, actively despises them. And he's joining the Department of Homeland Security.
Updated at 5:30 p.m.: Homeland Security denies that the hiring of Clarke has been made official, though The Washington Free Beacon has obtained audio footage of Clarke announcing it.
