Like Arpaio, another dogwhistle to police and his base supporters.
by digby
He’s letting them know that he’ll back them if they take the gloves off:
David Clarke, the controversial outgoing sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, is expected to take a job in the Trump administration, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Clarke resigned as sheriff on Thursday. A regular presence on Fox News, Clarke has become a well-known figure in conservative circles in recent years. He is also an avowed supporter of President Donald Trump, and he spoke at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last year.
But he has come under fierce criticism amid a series of deaths in the Milwaukee County prison, including that of Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration last year after guards turned off the water in his cell.
Trump has been one of Clarke’s most vocal cheerleaders, and even promoted his book on Twitter earlier this month.
It’s unclear what job Clarke will take in the administration, but one of the sources said he’s expected to join the White House. Clarke likely won’t be offered a Senate-confirmed role because his nomination would face opposition from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Joe Arpaio and David Clarke are the two most famous, sadistic law enforcement officers in the country. They re known for their brutality and defiance of the rule of law. Trump is rewarding both of them.
Here’s just one lovely story about Clark’s operation from 2016:
On July 18, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. strode onto the stage of the Republican National Convention. In a fiery speech, he called Black Lives Matter protests “anarchy,” praised Donald Trump’s “belief in our American system of justice,” and declared, “I would like to make something very clear: blue lives matter.”
Four days earlier, Shadé Swayzer was giving birth in the jail that Clarke runs. She went into labor in a solitary confinement cell, and when she cried for help, according to a recently filed lawsuit, a guard laughed at her and left her alone. By the time medical staff checked on her the next morning, the lawsuit reads, her newborn baby was dead.
Swayzer’s baby wasn’t the only person to die in the Milwaukee County Jail. Since April, as Clarke has campaigned around the country for Trump, three other inmates have died in his custody. One was a 38-year-old with mental health issues who died of “profound dehydration”—thirst—after guards apparently turned off the water in his cell.
I’m sure there are more like Arpaio and Clarke out there with much lower profiles. Trump is giving them a big thumbs up.
And, by the way, getting rid of Gorka and Bannon didn’t rid the White House of fascists. There are others. And he’s apparently hiring more every day.
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