"Trump Pardoned Sheriff Arpaio, but the Court Just Refused to Erase His Crimes from the Record"

In “Trump Pardoned Sheriff Arpaio, but the Court Just Refused to Erase His Crimes,” the author, Mother Maggs, condemns the 25 August decision of the Trump administration to pardon the former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio. Arpaio was convicted of “contempt of court for refusing to end his racist policies after being directed to…by the court.” The racist policies included targeting Hispanic individuals, or anyone the police perceived as Hispanic; it was “show me your papers” policing. However, Arpaio abused his power by “detain[ing] and arrest[ing] innocent people, indict[ing] judges and lawmakers, harass[ing] journalists, tortur[ing] and kill[ing] inmates, r[unning] an illegal slush fund, ignor[ing] child sex crimes, miss[pending] millions on tanks and shit, sp[ying] on enemies, [and] cost[ing the] taxpayers more than $140 million in settlements for his illegal actions.” 

Following the pardon, Arpaio’s attorney filed a motion to erase his criminal record, the motion read: “The President’s pardon moots the case, and it warrants an automatic vacatur of all opinions, judgements, and verdicts related to the criminal charge.” On Thursday, US District Judge Susan Bolton ruled against the motion for erasure. In her opinion, she wrote that the pardon “undoubtedly spared [the] Defendant from any punishment that might otherwise have been imposed. It did not, however, ‘revise the historical facts’ of this case.” 

The audience of the article includes leftists, liberals, or individuals opposed to the pardoning of Arpaio or the Trump administration. The credibility of the author cannot be determined based on the use of a pseudonym; however, she is a repeat contributor to Daily Kos. Mother Maggs argues the decision of US District Judge Bolton is warranted based on the evidence against Arpaio.