Phoenix mayor rips Trump: Pardoning Arpaio ‘a slap in the face’

The mayor of Phoenix on Friday blasted President Trump’s decision to pardon former Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio, calling it a “slap in the face.”

“Pardoning Joe Arpaio is a slap in the face to the people of Maricopa County, especially the Latino community and those he victimized as he systematically and illegally violated their civil rights,” Mayor Greg Stanton (D) said in a statement.

“Arpaio target and terrorized Latino families because of the color of their skin. He was ordered by a federal judge to stop and he refused,” Stanton continued. “He received a fair trial and a justifiable conviction, and there’s nothing the President can do to change the awful legacy and the stains he left on our community.

{mosads}

“Donald Trump can ignore the rule of law, but it was our voters who removed Joe Arpaio from power.”

The White House announced Friday night that Trump had pardoned the controversial former sheriff.

“Throughout his time as Sheriff, Arpaio continued his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration,” the White House said in a statement.

“Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is a worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon.”

Trump had previously hinted at a rally in Phoenix earlier this week that he would pardon Arpaio, saying he predicted the former sheriff would be “just fine.”