“While Clarke’s actions reflect poor judgment, they do not shock the conscience” in a way that would support a due-process claim, Stadtmueller wrote. Stadtmueller granted Clarke’s motion for summary judgment on the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims, as well as one of Black’s First Amendment claims, dismissing them as “completely without merit.” The judge also dismissed the claim against the six deputies, all of whom are identified in the complaint as “John Doe.” ![]() The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported soon after that Clarke would be joining the primary Political Action Committee supporting Trump.Įarlier this month, U.S. on the podcast he hosted on Glenn Beck’s radio network, The Blaze.Ĭlarke, 61, resigned his post as sheriff on August 31, 2017, amid his fourth term. And while he was being touted as a potential pick to head the Department of Homeland Security under Trump, he called for the suspension of habeas corpus in the U.S. He disavowed the Black Lives Matter movement as a hate group. ![]() But the Stetson-hatted African-American sheriff soon became a conservative media darling. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Feburary 2017 ( Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons)Ī Milwaukee native whose controversial views gained him national prominence during his fifteen-year tenure, Clarke ran for office as a Democrat. “The next time he or anyone else pulls this stunt they may get knocked out,” the email further stated. Follow him to baggage claim and out the door.”Ĭourt documents also note that an email sent from the account to a Clarke subordinate after the complaint was filed said Black “can go to hell.” Text messages provided to the court in Black’s filing show Clarke instructing one of the deputies that there should be “no arrest unless he becomes an asshole with your guys.”Īnother text: “Question for him is why he said anything to me. “A reasonable sheriff deputy would have known that it is unlawful to stop, arrest and interrogate a citizen to investigate their political opinions,” Black’s complaint reads. The suit seeks to hold the county liable for the sheriff’s department’s actions. In response, Clarke posted a meme on the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page that consisted of a photo of Black and text that read, “Cheer up, snowflake…if Sheriff Clarke were to really harass you, you wouldn’t be around to whine about it.”īlack filed a lawsuit, alleging that Clarke and his deputies violated his First Amendment rights, his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure, and his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. They did so, and then escorted him from the airport.īlack posted about the incident on social media and filed a complaint with Milwaukee County. Black shook his head and walked to his seat in coach, according to reports.Īfter the plane landed, six sheriff’s deputies greeted Black at the gate, where Clarke ordered them to take him aside and question him. When Black asked if the man in first class if he was David Clarke, the sheriff answered affirmatively. According to published reports, Black thought he recognized Clarke in first class, wearing gear depicting the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys football team. It began a year ago, when Clarke and petitioner Dan Black boarded the same flight from Dallas to Milwaukee. But a comment - actually, a meme - he posted online in response to a detractor has crossed a line for one federal judge, and the case will go to trial Monday, January 22. ![]() When it comes to speaking his mind, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has never been bashful. Black had filed a civil suit against Clarke in federal court. After deliberating for about three hours, the jury of five women and two men found that plaintiff Dan Black had failed to prove Sheriff Clarke’s Facebook posts violated Black’s First Amendment rights by intimidating him to the point that it was unlikely that he’d express his opinions in a similar fashion in the future. UPDATE: On January 22, a federal jury in Milwaukee found in favor of former county sheriff David Clarke.
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