Freedom Man Press

I met with Sheriff Bartlett personally to discuss his view on the Constitutionality of the Governor’s Stay-Home order and to determine whether or not the Ada County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) would be enforcing the order.

Our initial concern at the Freedom Man PAC was the communication that the ACSO had sent on their Facebook page here: ACSO Facebook

Here, the ACSO declares that, “We will cite or charge if we absolutely have to – if people continually and willfully violate the Governor’s order after we have spoken with them. As I said, I am confident that won’t happen.”

In our view, citing or charging anyone for violating the Governor’s order, which itself is a clear violation of the Constitution, would be wrong—under any circumstances. However, after speaking with Sheriff Bartlett directly, he assured me that his office would only be citing or charging citizens of a crime was being committed. In other words, they would only be citing or charging citizens who are actually breaking the law in some way.

Sheriff Bartlett adamantly professed his love and respect for the Constitution and expressed how seriously he takes his oath of office and his vow to protect and defend the Constitution. He also highlighted that his actions speak even louder than his words when he asked, “How many people has the ACSO arrested or cited or charged during this COVID crisis?” The answer to that is ZERO. And he let me know that it is by his instruction and constant communication with his staff that no one has been charged or cited during the lockdown (it must also be noted that the ACSO is the largest law enforcement agency in the state and has possibly more staff and constituents than a large percentage of the other 43 counties combined).

Sheriff Bartlett additionally admitted that the language of the Governor’s order is “confusing” and that the constitutionality of the order will be left up to the courts.

Sheriff Bartlett also went on to describe an incident as a piece of anecdotal evidence to help clarify the ACSO’s position on the matter, where he himself was on patrol (which in my opinion is honorable for someone in his office), and where he happened upon a large group of people in a public gathering, who were clearly violating the Governor’s order.

Sheriff Bartlett got out of his patrol car, approached the group, and engaged them on a personal and friendly level. He let them know that this is America, and Idaho in particular, and that they are FREE to enjoy themselves. But he asked them to “consider” that there is a stay home order in place, and asked them to consider “social distancing” and other personal safety measures. He then asked them to stay safe and moved on.

Quite frankly, that is all we ask of our government. If only Brad Little had the same respect for the people of Idaho. There would be no protests, no anti-government sentiment, and no breaking down of the social contract between citizens and government if Governor Little had made his stay home “orders” a simple list of suggestions and considerations for Idahoans. Undoubtedly, a great number of Idahoans would have followed suit with the Governor’s suggestions, while others would have ignored it. But at least then, the people would be FREE to make their own decisions.

Sheriff Bartlett, in my view, has carefully walked the line and held the balance between Constitutionality and upholding the necessary relationships with legislators, government officials, and most importantly, the citizens who elected him to protect us.

Unfortunately, Sheriff Bartlett’s public position was not enough to warrant an endorsement from the Freedom Man PAC, though it was enough to earn my personal vote, as a resident of Ada County.

Diego Rodriguez
Freedom Man PAC