A federal judge has approved contempt of court charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, officially threatening “America’s toughest sheriff” with six months in jail.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton signed Tuesday a request made by prosecutors last week seeking sanctions against Sheriff Arpaio for violating an order that he cease enforcing federal immigration laws.
The trial has been tentatively set for Dec. 6 at the federal court in Phoenix, the Arizona Republic reported.
A federal judge already had found that the sheriff in civil contempt earlier this year and had referred the case for criminal prosecution in August.
Sheriff Arpaio, known for his crackdowns on illegal immigrants and such headline-grabbing acts as giving jail inmates pink underwear, faces an uphill re-election race in a couple of weeks and has dismissed the entire case as an election-year ploy.
There was no immediate comment from him, the Republic reported.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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