DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Michigan’s infamous Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf and other members of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) were the topic of a Wired magazine feature in in recent months. Leaf, to put it mildly, is considered a wack job in the world of law enforcement. He and members of CSPOA believe that their powers are drawn directly from the U.S. Constitution and that they are not beholden to any local, state or federal power. Don’t agree with a law on the books? Then just discard it, according to CSPOA members. The group claimed in 2014 to have 485 sheriffs nationwide as members and now claims they have 10,000 fee-paying members. Leaf has had more than his 15 minutes of fame with his so-called investigation since 2020 into voter fraud in Barry County, even though Trump won the Michigan county handily. According to Wired, Leaf runs a militia training camp during which he counsels his followers to “get a standard AR-15 type military grade weapon” and “500 rounds of ammo.” He supports the CSPOA belief that sheriffs could and should have posses. Leaf has also defended members of the militia group that attempted to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer, suggesting that the men involved were simply trying to make a citizen arrest. Clearly someone living in his own reality. No wonder the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled CSPOA an anti-government group with ties to other extremist and paramilitary organizations.
