DOJ To Monitor Election In County Where Sheriff Called Harris A ‘Hyena’ | EUROtoday

The U.S. Department of Justice introduced Tuesday that will probably be monitoring the 2024 common election in Portage County, Ohio, following options by the native sheriff that residents preserve observe of people that vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

The county sits east of Akron and is residence to roughly 160,000 individuals. It leans conservative, having gone for former President Donald Trump in each the 2016 and 2020 cycles along with now-Sen. JD Vance in 2022.

“Voters in Portage County have raised concerns about intimidation resulting from the surveillance and the collection of personal information regarding voters, as well as threats concerning the electoral process,” the division mentioned in a press release.

It didn’t present additional data on the precise considerations however famous the division “regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country.”

In mid-September, county Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski appeared to recommend in a Facebook put up that residents make lists of any neighbors displaying indicators in help of Harris.

“When people ask me…What’s gonna happen if the Flip – Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say…write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards,” Zuchowski wrote, in keeping with USA Today.

“Sooo…when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live…We’ll already have the addresses of their New families…who supported their arrival!”

In a follow-up put up on his official Facebook web page, the sheriff tried to make clear his feedback, which he mentioned have been being “misinterpreted.”

“If the citizens of Portage County want to elect an individual who has supported open borders (which I’ve personally visited Twice!) and neglected to enforce the laws of our Country…then that is their prerogative,” he wrote.

He additionally went on Fox News to double down on that message, saying that whereas he was elected to serve all residents of Portage County, he had been fielding questions from individuals involved about immigrants coming to stay there. He cited the Haitian immigrant inhabitants in Springfield, Ohio — within the information lately due to extensively circulated lies that they’re “eating pets” — despite the fact that mentioned Haitian immigrants are within the nation legally.

“We need to remember where these signs were, because when there’s nowhere else to put these people, I look at it as a welcome mat,” Zuchowski mentioned on Fox News.

(It would, in fact, be unlawful to drive residents to soak up migrants.)

In response to his feedback, the Portage County Board of Elections voted to briefly prohibit Zuchowski and his deputies from offering safety to the administration constructing whereas ballot employees are educated and early voting takes place.

The Portage County chapter of the NAACP additionally held an “emergency meeting” on election threats, and greater than 100 individuals confirmed up, in keeping with the Akron Beacon Journal.