The Milwaukee County sheriff, who spoke at the Republican convention, once said ISIS and Black Lives Matter activists were allying to destroy America.
David A. Clarke, the Milwaukee County sheriff who once claimed that ISIS and Black Lives Matter activists were forming an alliance to destroy America, said on a radio show Wednesday that he would accept a senior position at the Homeland Security Department.
Appearing on a Milwaukee radio show, Sheriff Clarke said he would take over the office that coordinates the Department of Homeland Security’s outreach efforts for state, local, tribal, territorial governments and local law enforcement agencies. The position does not require Senate confirmation.
But the White House declined to comment on Sheriff Clarke’s announcement, and the Homeland Security Department, in an emailed statement, said that “such senior positions are announced by the department when made official by the secretary. No such announcement with regard to the Office of Public Engagement has been made.”
On the radio program, Sheriff Clarke, known for his cowboy hats and brash statements, said, “I’ m both honored and humbled to be appointed to this position, working for the Trump administration.”
Sheriff Clarke, who gained national attention when he spoke at the Republican National Convention, is a vocal proponent of gun rights and a member of the National Rifle Association. That association has often brought him into conflict with the Black Lives Matter movement, which was formed after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, a black teenager, in 2014 Ferguson, Mo.
Sheriff Clarke called the Ferguson demonstrators “vultures on a roadside carcass.”
This month, a grand jury recommended criminal charges against several staff members at a jail run by Sheriff Clarke in connection with the death of an inmate last year.
Terrill Thomas, who had bipolar disorder, died in April 2016 after the staff members cut off the water in his cell for a week. The grand jury did not recommend criminal charges against Sheriff Clarke, who has declined to discuss the matter.
The sheriff will replace John Barsa, who is listed as the current acting assistant secretary.
After Sheriff Clarke’s announcement, Chris Abele, the Milwaukee County executive, said in a statement, “The appointment of Sheriff Clarke to a position intended to build partnership and engagement is not a decision made by someone interested in partnership or engagement.”
Some former Homeland Security Department officials expressed outrage that Sheriff Clarke would take a position at the agency.
Juliette N. Kayyem, who was assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security in the Obama administration, wrote on Twitter: “I am floored. And feel for my career staff.”
Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat of California, who sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, wrote in a Twitter post: “Sheriff David Clarke’s unconscionable record makes him unfit to serve. This appointment is a disgrace.”
