An Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant has reportedly vowed not to help anyone who supports Democrats. He said in a series of social media posts that he needs “proof of who you voted for” before he can provide assistance.
Lt. John Rodgers of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, the city recently in the news for false reports of migrants eating people’s pets, allegedly posted the comments on Facebook, according to images obtained by local news media And spread on social media.
“I’m sorry. If you support the Democratic party, I won’t help you,” one message said.
“The problem is I know which of you support the Democratic Party and I will not help you survive the end times,” another message said.
“Ultimately, I will require you to provide proof of who you voted for when you ask me for help. Guns and ammunition are not cheap,” said another.
Luke Sharrett via Getty Images
A Clark County Board of Elections official, responding to Rodgers’ comments in an email to JS on Monday, reminded that a person’s vote “is always protected by voting secrecy.”
“Once a vote has been taken, no one can access the ballot selections made by any voter,” said the board’s deputy director, Amber Lopez. Lopez added that Rodgers’ comments are a matter of internal discipline at the sheriff’s department and “not within the jurisdiction of the Board of Elections.”
A representative from the sheriff’s office called the comments “highly inappropriate” to local media and said they do not reflect the office’s values and mission.
“The community has a right to be angry about Lt. Rodgers’ actions and he, as well as the Sheriff’s Office at large, will have to work even harder to rebuild the trust of members of our community,” said Deputy Chief Mike Young . in a statement to WHIO-TV and The Associated Press.
Representatives from the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to JS’s requests for comment.
Rodgers has said he does not remember writing or deleting the messages, according to a copy of an investigative report into the comments obtained by WHIO and the Springfield News Sun.
Rodgers reportedly suggested that some sleep medication he was prescribed was likely to blame, as it causes him to act “out of character.”
“I was surprised to read those messages and do not have them, nor have I ever had feelings toward anyone like those depicted in the messages,” he said, according to the report.
Rodgers has reportedly received a written reprimand for violating the department’s social media policy and remains in office.
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The incident is just the latest in Ohio to raise concerns about law enforcement officers jeopardizing their sworn duty to protect all citizens because of personal political beliefs ahead of the presidential election.
In Portage County, Ohio, the local sheriff in mid-September encouraged people on Facebook to create lists of neighbors with signs supporting Harris.
Republican Portage County Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski later defended his comments to Fox News, saying that when migrants need homes, they will have a list of addresses to provide them.
The U.S. Department of Justice later said it would monitor the general election in Portage County due to concerns about voter intimidation “resulting from the surveillance and collection of personal information about voters, as well as threats related to the election process.”