Washington state sheriff says bill could see him booted from office for right-wing speech

A Washington state sheriff is accusing the Democrat-led Legislature of giving in to “authoritarian” impulses by advancing a bill that would revoke law enforcement certifications over online speech they disagree with.

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank is taking issue with Senate Bill 5974’s language tying certification to a social media standard, which lumps online behavior with bans against on-the-job officer bias delineated in the state’s general code.

Sheriff Swank uses his personal X account to voice support for federal immigration enforcement and opposition to transgender athletes in women’s sports. He says his posts would qualify as “hate speech” outlined in the legislation.

The sheriff says that if the bill were to become law, his likely decertification would prevent him from holding his elected office and overturn the will of voters in the state’s second-most populous county.

“The Democrats believe that once they can control the sheriffs, then they can control everything in the state,” Sheriff Swank told The Washington Times. “They can impose their will on the people. It’s complete overreach and authoritarian.”

The bill’s text says law enforcement officials who run afoul of the new prohibitions can have complaints filed against them with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

The commission, which is staffed by appointees from the governor, can pull someone’s certification if the complaint is deemed credible. (Washington hasn’t had a Republican governor in more than 40 years.)

The bill passed in the Senate on a party-line vote last month. It is being reviewed in the House of Representatives.

Sen. John Lovick, the bill’s Democratic sponsor who once served as the Snohomish County sheriff, said that tighter standards on law enforcement conduct are part of a broader initiative to modernize policing in the state.

He also pushed back against concerns that the bill aims to target sheriffs’ political beliefs.

“Out of the 39 sheriffs, I doubt if there’s a single sheriff that’s going to have to deal with this,” Mr. Lovick told NPR-affiliate KUOW. “But they’ll know that they will be held accountable.”

But Mr. Lovick also singled out Sheriff Swank’s testimony against the bill during a January committee hearing as a prime example of why the legislation is needed.

Sheriff Swank told lawmakers that “when you try to remove me from office, thousands of Pierce County residents will surround the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma and will not allow that to happen.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I and they are prepared,” he added. “Are you prepared?”

Several Democratic senators, including Mr. Lovick, perceived Sheriff Swank’s comments as threatening.

But Pierce County’s top cop is not alone. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison slammed the bill when it was introduced this year, saying it would empower an “unelected state board the authority to remove a duly elected sheriff from office.”

“Claims of ’accountability’ do not justify sweeping changes such as imposing candidate requirements, redefining duties, or allowing state-level removal of a locally elected constitutional officer,” Sheriff Morrison said in a public statement before the start of legislative session in January. “Sheriffs are already accountable through elections, recall, and public scrutiny no less than any other elected official.”

Sheriff Morrison added that prosecutors, judges and other county-level politicians could eventually face similar restrictions if the bill becomes law.

Sheriff Swank predicts the bill will become law, noting that Democrats dominate all levels of state government. He says he is undeterred in his opposition.

“I’m not changing anything,” Sheriff Swank told The Times. “I think [they] would come after me right away, try to remove me from office, and then it will create a constitutional crisis … Maybe we need to have that happen to wake people up. I’m not sure where rock bottom is, but maybe we haven’t gotten there yet.”