Ohio Sheriff Defends Wanting Kamala Harris Supporter Addresses

An Ohio sheriff whose request on social media for the addresses of Kamala Harris supporters is defending his submit after it obtained nationwide consideration and provoked accusations of voter intimidation.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski responded Wednesday to the outcry over his Fb submit final Friday by which he referred to the Democratic presidential nominee as a “Laughing Hyena” and advised that folks “write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!”

Zuchowski, who’s operating for reelection, additionally referred to immigrants as “Illegal human ‘Locust’ [sic]” and stated that after they “need places to live…We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families…who supported their arrival!”

Some Portage County residents have been alarmed by Zuchowski’s rhetoric — particularly amid the false and inflammatory Republican claims about Haitian immigrants in different Ohio cities — and filed complaints with the American Civil Liberties Union, state and federal businesses, in addition to members of Congress, native information outlet The Portager reported.

One GOP county commissioner even resigned from the county’s Republican Central Committee, saying in a Fb video that “this is not the leadership I want to be part of.”

In interviews, native residents stated they felt focused by their sheriff and felt they wouldn’t be capable of depend on him to guard them in the event that they wanted assist.

In Wednesday’s submit, Zuchowski famous that “as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Portage County, I have sworn to protect ALL citizens of my County.”

However fairly than apologize, he advised he wasn’t joking about amassing addresses of Harris supporters, including that “those who vote for individuals with liberal policies have to accept responsibility for their actions!”

Whereas Zuchowski defended his preliminary Fb submit by citing his First Modification proper to free speech, the ACLU of Ohio characterised his remarks as “an impermissible, unconstitutional threat against Portage County residents who wish to engage in protected First Amendment activity.”

The group stated it has obtained calls from residents, a lot of whom “have reasonably understood his posts to be a threat of governmental action to punish them for their expressed political beliefs and have been coerced to take down or refrain from putting up a yard sign.”

The ACLU known as on Zuchowski to “follow the law – as is his duty as an elected official and his role as sheriff.”

Native NBC affiliate WKYC studies that Ohio’s Republican secretary of state, Frank LaRose, stated that his workplace had reviewed Zuchowski’s feedback “and determined they don’t violate election laws. The sheriff can speak and answer for himself about the substance of his remarks.”

Zuchowski’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark.