Eighteen months ago, I had been asked that if I would run for Sheriff of Archuleta County. Knowing the magnitude of this task, I spent several months researching and trying to find somebody younger and more energetic than me to run. As I approached people, they were understandably scared and frightened of the ramifications in challenging this corrupt system in Archuleta County.
So, as I began to realize that it was going to fall on my shoulders, I started to research what was needed to run for sheriff. Now the most important aspect of the Sheriff’s position is protecting the Constitutional Rights of the citizens they protect locally and across the county.
So, I went to the Archuleta County Recorder (Kristy Archuleta) and got the packet to be able to get on the ballot for Sheriff. As an unaffiliated candidate, the timelines for turning in fingerprints, signatures, etc. is much different than if you are a Republican or Democrat. I knew I had until May 2022, which allowed me time to accomplish the most important goal in running for sheriff: that was to be able to challenge the fingerprinting process.
According to the statute, it requires you provide a set of fingerprints or an affidavit stating that you have never been convicted of a felony; again, a requirement of the statute. However, the privacy act associated with getting your fingerprints is a separate document that is tagged onto the statute. This separate document says that you voluntarily submit your fingerprints – like the statute – but, if you don’t, they can keep you off the ballot. So, in order to challenge the statute, I had to expose what the State and C.B.I./F.B.I. were violating: my Fourth Amendment Rights.
The process of exposing this took me nearly 18 months to accomplish.
I wrote the Secretary of State (Jena Griswold) several letters with no response regarding this issue. Prior to the end of 2020, I finally got a hold of someone in the Colorado S.O.S. office, and they said it was not longer a state issue, so the County (Archuleta County) would now be responsible for placing me on the ballot or not.
I completed my affidavit, and gave it to the county recorder who then passed it to the County Attorney (Todd Weaver), who then advised a county clerk to deny me access to the ballot until I submitted my fingerprints.
In February 2021, I went to Montezuma County and got my fingerprints. I took the fingerprints to an Archuleta BoCC meeting and showed them that I was not afraid of getting my fingerprints verified. What I was concerned about what the privacy act notification that if I did not provide the fingerprints that I would not be placed on the ballot.
Todd Weaver again, advised the County Commissioners that I didn’t comply with the statute. I met with District 3 County Commissioner Chair, Alvin Shaaf, and took him my fingerprints and privacy notification act that the F.B.I./C.B.I. stated were voluntary, which turned out they were not.
In that privacy notification, my voluntary signing of the document (they forcefully held it over my head that if I didn’t sign it, they would not put me on the ballot), but by my voluntarily singing it, I would be giving up my right to my Constitutional Rights of the Fourth Amendment. Now, if that were to happen, they could release my personal information to any third party or any government they deem fit – without my permission.
If I am to be a Constitutional Sheriff, and if I can’t stand up to my rights, How do you expect me to stand up for yours?!
So, the battle began.
I knew I had plenty of time. I wrote the C.B.I. the same letter I wrote the S.O.S. twice before. This time, I included the fact that the agents of the C.B.I./F.B.I. take an oath of office to protect the Constitutional Rights of Americans. I made several phone-calls to the the C.B.I. without success. I wrote again to the C.B.I. and called again, and they said they had not received my letter and asked if I would send it again. I sent them the verification of the previous letter and all the pertinent facts from 1.5 months prior showing the date it was received. That’s when I finally got a call from the Deputy Director of the C.B.I.
He conceded that I was correct and it does say voluntary and tried to give many excuses as to how my info would be protected, when the document showed the exact opposite. He also conceded that if I didn’t comply, that I would not be able to get the background check and be placed on the ballot.
Once I got the verification that they admitted it was voluntary, I was told then that I was absolutely right; however, if I didn’t sign the document, they wouldn’t complete the background search and continue to deny me access to the ballot.
This was the long-winded answer I was looking for that I received in the beginning of April 2022.
Knowing that this was the inevitable outcome, I knew that by them denying my Constitutional Rights that I now had the opportunity to reject any training they would require me to take as your Constitutional Sheriff.
Why now – after finding this out – would I want to be trained by any organization that wants to violate yours and my rights?
This is exactly what I was hoping would happen: I immediately went down to the Sheriff’s Office, got my prints again, and signed the document, because – after all – the end game was getting on the ballot.
After my results came back that I had not committed felonies or crimes, I got a letter from the County that I met all the qualifications to be placed on the November 2022 ballot.
This now gives me the tool that I needed to deny the F.B.I./C.B.I. those training courses of my deputies and myself. Why would I want my deputies and I to be trained to violate our Constitutional Rights? I will now approach sheriff Mack, or any other Constitutional training program for myself and my deputies that will protect yours and my rights.
This a a huge win for freedom.
It took 18 months to finally get that answer, and in spite of much criticism from people I received within the community, such as ‘why are you afraid of getting your prints done?’, They didn’t realize my agenda all along was to protect our rights and not capitulate to the F.B.I./C.B.I.
Now that I will be on the ballot after I get my signatures starting May 19, 2022, I will be in a better position to protect and defend all of our Constitutional Rights!
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