Tim Marchman: As you write, this is rooted in white supremacist beliefs. Could you please unpack it a little?
David Gilbert: That’s right, and it goes back to the late 1960s, early 1970s, to a movement called Posse Comitatus that was said to have been founded by a man named William Potter Gale. He was the pastor of this militantly anti-Semitic white supremacist quasi-religion known as Christian Identity at the time. He believed that sheriffs were the protectors of the people, that they had the power to raise militias, and that sheriffs should be established by law as the highest law enforcement agency anywhere in the country. We’ve seen over the years that these far-right or constitutional sheriffs take extreme actions if they have a base of supporters in their local area or county who believe that: I’m here. What they’re doing will get them voted back into power for decades at a time.
Tim Marchman: The mandate of the people is very powerful, but some sheriffs cite a higher authority. They say their power comes from God, which seems pretty unconstitutional given America’s separation of church and state. How do they respond to that?
DAVID GILBERT: Well, their answer is that there really is no separation of church and state. They say this is another misreading of the Constitution and that the entire Constitutional Sheriff movement is deeply imbued with Christian nationalist beliefs and ideology. Most of the constitutional marshals I’ve talked to over the last six months or so want America to return to a nation rooted in Christianity, one where Christianity is at the center of every aspect of life, even in law enforcement. . Education, government, culture, etc. They believe that because they believe they get their power from God, their society makes them the most powerful law enforcers in the land.
Tim Marchman: Under this constitutional order as they understand it, is there a role for a constitutional governor or a constitutional mayor, or are these powers unique to the sheriff?
DAVID GILBERT: They seem to believe that these powers are unique to the sheriff. In all the time I’ve been covering this, I’ve never heard them talk about any other person, whether government or law enforcement, who would have similar powers to the sheriff. Again, this goes back to the idea that this is somehow enshrined in the Constitution. Like we said, it’s not, but in their belief system, their ideology, they can go after the sheriff. This is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the world. It goes back to England. There, the sheriff would collect taxes and other taxes as ordered by the local judge. It has obviously been exported from England to America and has been since the founding of the United States. They believe it is the key to giving them power that no one else in America has. Because at the local level, they’re there to protect the people, and it’s the people who elect them. their duty. They do not seem to believe that other positions, such as governor, should be afforded similar constitutional protections even if they are elected by the people.
