Darryl Daniels, sheriff of Clay County, Florida, has been arrested after a sex scandal investigation. Daniels endorsed Donald Trump’s reelection less than a month ago.
Daniels has been charged with tampering with evidence and three misdemeanor counts of giving false information to law enforcement.
In a July 31 press release from the Trump/Pence campaign, Daniels was listed as one of 48 sheriffs in Florida endorsing Donald Trump’s reelection.
“Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels was arrested Thursday on felony and misdemeanor charges following a year-long investigation into a sex scandal where the sheriff ordered his staff to arrest his mistress,” the Florida Times-Union reported.
After the arrest, Daniels denied the charges and complained that they were “dirty politics.”
Daniels reportedly had sex with a corrections officer when he was the jails director for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. According to an internal investigation, Daniels later instructed his staff to arrest the woman on stalking allegations, but the staff told prosecutors they did not believe the arrest was justified.
Despite the arrest’s relations to his official duties, Daniels released a video statement claiming the entire issue was related to “my failures as a husband.”
Daniels recently made headlines in Florida when he said he would deputize “every lawful gun owner” against Black Lives Matter protesters should they turn violent.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.