# Right wing think tank "training" sheriffs **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 21, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-wing-think-tank-training-sheriffs/971986 "2022-09-21T15:07:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-wing-think-tank-training-sheriffs/971986/1 "2022-09-21T15:07:07Z")
In most (all?) states, each county has an elected sheriff who is the primary law enforcement official in the county. As a result, there are 3,000-some elected sheriffs whose jurisdictions blanket nearly the entire country (commonly, the sheriff’s authority overlaps with any municipal police department that there might be). This Slate article talks about a think tank that has established a kind of indoctrination program for sheriffs in the form of a prestigious “fellowship” program. The program is apparently quite secretive, but Slate says this: > While the Claremont Institute restricted public access to the fellowship, a review of the fellowship’s previously unreported curriculum reveals a program that presented for the sheriffs two sets of people in America: Those communities sheriffs should police as freely and brutally as they see fit, and those “real” Americans who should be considered virtually above the law. … > Claremont provides a historical and intellectual cover for selected sheriffs to continue a march into white Christian nationalism; for Claremont, the sheriffs are elected influencers who can push their message into the mainstream, far from the coterie of intellectual elites. They also have the authority to use violence under the color of law to enforce these principles in their communities. > **[Here’s the Secret “Sheriff Fellowship” Curriculum From the Country’s Most...](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/claremont-institute-secret-sheriff-fellowship-curriculum-revealed.html)** > > Sheriffs are the perfect messenger for Claremont, spreading spread their extremist beliefs with the imprimatur of gun and badge. It’s probably no surprise that this kind of thing is going on, but the question is how does one oppose it, or at least bring it to public attention? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-wing-think-tank-training-sheriffs/971986/2 "2022-09-21T15:28:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > In most (all?) states, each county has an elected sheriff who is the primary law enforcement official in the county. FYI, not all states. Connecticut, for instance, has no government at the county level and no sheriffs. I think a few other states are similar. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-wing-think-tank-training-sheriffs/971986/3 "2022-09-21T18:05:31Z")
As my sainted mother used to say, “Jesus jenny on a crutch!” So, I’m thinking of starting a clothing company specializing in Nazi uniforms, I should make a fortune! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-wing-think-tank-training-sheriffs/971986/4 "2022-09-21T18:12:26Z")
Sheriffs play a large role in SovCit idiocy. Not, necessarily, the sheriffs themselves but the position is seen as a type of super police who have the power to override the actual police. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-wing-think-tank-training-sheriffs/971986/5 "2022-09-21T18:19:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > In most (all?) states, each county has an elected sheriff who is the primary law enforcement official in the county. > > FYI, not all states. Connecticut, for instance, has no government at the county level and no sheriffs. I think a few other states are similar. In Arlington County, Virginia, the sheriff’s office doesn’t really have any law enforcement authority. They’re pretty much limited to handling security at the courthouse and jail plus supervising prisoners when not in jail (e.g.: work release and transfers).