Via LA Times:
The longtime sheriff of metropolitan Phoenix has been charged with criminal contempt of court for ignoring a judge’s order in a racial profiling case, leaving the 84-year-old lawman in a tough spot two weeks before election day as he seeks a seventh term.
The U.S. Department of Justice promised two weeks ago that it would prosecute Sheriff Joe Arpaio, but the misdemeanor count wasn’t officially filed against him until Tuesday, when U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton signed it.
Arpaio could face up to six months in jail if convicted. A misdemeanor conviction would not bar Arpaio from serving as sheriff.
Democratic challenger Paul Penzone said Arpaio, through his acts of political defiance, has no one to blame but himself for the charge. “It’s another example of the sheriff putting his own personal objectives ahead of the best interest of the community at our expense,” Penzone said.