Welcome to what is the 1113th original profile here at “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Chris West, the elected Republican sheriff of Canadian County in Oklahoma, and the first sheriff we’ve profiled probably since our last update on disgraced former Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Usually, we don’t go out of our way to discuss the office of county sheriffs, but some folks are just too corrupt, racist, or violent to have us overlook them.
Chris West, though… it can’t be assuring for the folks in his district to have a guy spouting conspiracy theories about the Mueller Investigation out during the Trump administration as your elected law enforcement official. And to see someone entrusted with public safety respond to actions being taken to restrict the Covid-19 pandemic by fearmongering against prospective vaccine mandates for his sheriff’s department. It’s not even that he’s predictably a part of a network of anti-immigrant law enforcement officers from around the country…
But no, what really got our attention about Sheriff West is that he was one of 57 Republican elected officials from around the country who went to Washington, D.C. on January 6th and took part in Donald Trump’s coup attempt against the legislative branch of our government. While he tried to pretend he wasn’t a part of the extremism that day because he “never entered the Capitol building”, his social media posts at the time were a bit more volatile than he’s letting on:
“If they’re okay rigging an election and foreign help to steal the white house and control of WeThePeople, then I’m okay with using whatever means necessary to preserve America and save FREEDOM & LIBERTY,” West allegedly wrote in one post.
When another Oklahoman on Facebook wrote “I want several in Congress… in prison” West wrote back: “or worse.”
So… yeah, it’s not normal to have the guy policing the law in your county making veiled threats towards the people who make the laws for the country you’re supposed to enforce. At all.
Chris West has not, shockingly, been removed from office, and his term will not be up until the 2024 elections. We’re hoping there’s a less extreme candidate who runs to his left, whether in the primary or the general election, and that seems like a perfectly low bar for anyone sane to clear.
One Year Ago, June 27th, 2021: Steve Watkins (KS)
Two Years Ago, June 27th, 2020: Lynne DiSanto (SD)
Three Years Ago, June 27th, 2019: Ron Beaty (MA)
Four Years Ago, June 27th, 2018: Dave Trott (MI)
Five Years Ago, June 27th, 2017: Paul Blair (OK)… 2017 Update
Six Year Ago, June 27th, 2016: Alex Beinstein (CO)
Seven Years Ago, June 27th, 2015: John Lloyd Ellis (AL)