A prominent conservative California sheriff joked about “switching teams” ahead of the 2024 election and urged people to support “convicted felons.”
“I think it’s time to send a felon to the White House,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a video posted to social media Saturday.
Bianco’s comments came after former President Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York last week, making him the first president to be convicted of a felony.
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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on May 15, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Bianco, who has openly hinted at the possibility of running for California governor, lamented in the video that after more than 30 years in law enforcement, he has done everything he can to “keep our communities safe by arresting criminals and putting them behind bars,” but that in recent years, his leaders and the state of California seem to have become pro-criminal.
“Over the last five years, I’ve been very critical of the Governor for cutting the prison budget, releasing inmates early and closing prisons,” Bianco said. “I’ve criticized the Legislature for passing laws that make it harder to incarcerate people. I’ve criticized them for changing the laws that allow inmates to be released early. And I’ve criticized the Attorney General for not seeming to care about crime.”
The sheriff lamented the “love affair” state leaders have with criminals, claiming it is based on “the belief that criminals are not responsible for their actions.”
“They’re victims of society,” Bianco said. “It’s society’s fault. It’s the companies’ fault. It’s the cops’ fault. It could be me.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco kneels with demonstrators after thousands marched to the Robert Pressly Detention Center during protests over the death of George Floyd during the COVID-19 pandemic on June 1, 2020. (Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Bianco said state leaders have accused the justice system, laws and law enforcement of being “systematically racist,” resulting in criminals being put in prison as a result of “bias.”
But now, “we’re letting them go,” the sheriff continued, “giving them housing, giving them money, giving them drugs and alcohol.”
Bianco added that he was “sick and tired” of the issue, before jokingly acknowledging that he might have been “wrong.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, center, listens to Sheriff Chad Bianco speak during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol honoring law enforcement as part of Police Week, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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“I’m going to change teams,” Bianco said.
“I think they’re on to something, but I don’t think they’re doing enough about it,” the sheriff said, joking that he thought putting a felon in the White House was a good idea.
“Trump 2024, baby, let’s save this country and make America great again,” Bianco concluded.
