Jan 15 2010
Arpaio Faces Grand Jury Investigation as Thousand Plan to March Against Him
Ahead of a planned mass march against him this weekend, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is currently facing a grand jury investigation into alleged abuses of power. Though the lawman from Maricopa County has gained notoriety for his immigration sweeps in Latino neighborhoods, the focus of the grand jury’s probe is broad in trying to identify a pattern of abuses and misuses of federal funds. Although it is unclear whether or not Arpaio, who likes to fashion himself as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” would face charges or be removed from his position as a result of the investigation, immigrant rights activists in the state welcome the action as part of a collective whole. On Saturday, those primarily concerned with Arpaio’s treatment of immigrants will be descending upon Phoenix from across the nation for a march and rally expected to draw tens of thousands. Organizers of the “Arpaio’s America is Not Our America” National Day of Action will call on the Obama administration to terminate their 287(g) agreement with the Maricopa Sheriff’s Department’s jails and demand the passage of just and comprehensive immigration reform. Participants will march along the route to the Tent City outdoor detention facility overseen by Arpaio’s office. Speakers at the rally will include singer Linda Ronstadt, labor organizer Dolores Huerta and Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine.
GUESTS: Pablo Alvarado, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Jose Calderon, Professor of Sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College, President of the Latino/Latina Roundtable
Find out more at http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6190/t/8387/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=599
2 Responses to “Arpaio Faces Grand Jury Investigation as Thousand Plan to March Against Him”
You don’t live in Phoenix and you don’t have a say in what goes on in Arizona. Illegals are bankrupting our state. Today, the state government announced that they were closing more than half of the state parks due to lack of funds. Illegals are sucking the life out of Arizona. Stay in California!
Joe Arpaio is the only lawman in Arizona who has the “huevos” to arrest people who are breaking the law. Why don’t you support a cause that helps people who really need help, like refugees in Sudan who live in much worse conditions and whose very lives are threatened on a daily basis, instead of supporting people who come here so they can make enough money to buy an Escalade or Hummer!