Ex-Milwaukee Sheriff Clarke Joins Trump-Aligned Super PAC

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, David A. Clarke Jr., Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., and Donald Trump supporter, arrives on the Great America PAC bus for a town hall meeting in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great Amer... In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, David A. Clarke Jr., Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., and Donald Trump supporter, arrives on the Great America PAC bus for a town hall meeting in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. Presidential hopefuls often embark on bus tours to meet voters across the country. This time, a super PAC is standing in for Republican nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Raoux) MORE LESS
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Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has joined the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action as a senior adviser and spokesman, the group said Tuesday.

Clarke, who abruptly resigned as sheriff on Aug. 31, has faced legal scrutiny for his harsh jailing practices. Four people died in Milwaukee County Jail in 2016, including a newborn baby and a man who had been denied water for seven days before his death. That man’s family recently sued Clarke and several others.

Clarke, who spoke gushingly of Trump from the stage of the Republican National Convention last year, once claimed to have received a job offer from Trump’s Department of Homeland Security. Over the following weeks, however, he expressed uncertainty about the offer and eventually withdrew his name from consideration for the job.

“David Clarke is an American patriot, and we are very proud to welcome him to America First,” said Brian O. Walsh, president of America First Action, in a statement.

Clarke said the job “gives me the chance to do what I love most—promote President Trump’s agenda, including his fierce support for the American law enforcement officer, and ensure that the will of the American people who got President Trump elected is not derailed by the left or the self-serving Washington establishment.”

Trump’s first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, also recently joined America First Action with the same titles as Clarke: senior adviser and spokesman, according to the Associated Press. CNN reported in August on a series of former Trump aides who had joined the group and an associated group, America First Policies.

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