Photo credit: Angie Wang | AP

President Trump has pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona for a misdemeanor criminal contempt conviction. An official statement from the White House said, "Today, President Donald J. Trump granted a Presidential pardon to Joe Arpaio, former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona." Arpaio gained notoriety for his tough on immigrants attitude and became known as "America's Toughest Sheriff." When a judge ordered Arpaio and his deputies to stop detaining illegal immigrants, the sheriff ignored them and continued the practice for 18 months.

<img src="https://media.8ch.net/file_store/3d28616b2b767e74b1d97e39d5a522cb29b677994a656c3c27e93bcd69fa2606.jpg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">

<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon</span>

At a Trump rally in Arizona last week, the president hinted at a pardon for the sheriff when he said, "You know what, I'll make a prediction: I think he's going to be just fine. O.K.? But I won't do it tonight because I don't want to cause any controversy." Arpaio says he didn't ask for a pardon and had not spoken with president Trump about the matter. His misdemeanor conviction carries a possible sentence of up to six months.

Throughout his career, Arpaio has made headlines for his controversial actions. In the late 1990's, Arpaio opened 'Tent City Jail', a jail that housed inmates outdoors in the Arizona sun in tents. Activists criticized the jail as inhumane but the most recent sheriff Paul Penzone said that the jail was voluntary and inmates actually preferred it. Where Penzone did disagree with Arpaio is in his claims that the tough reputation of the jail made people less likely to commit crimes. The city began tearing it down in 2017. Arpaio has served in the Military and police for his entire life and has most recently gone on to lead the DEA's branch in Arizona.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/2017/08/25/545282459/president-trump-pardons-former-sheriff-joe-arpaio