The troubling ties of Richard Mack and his far-right pro-paramilitary group, Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, have been well documented by IREHR and others. This weekend, Richard Mack looks to add to his organization’s list of bigoted associations when he makes an April 13 appearance at The Altar Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The senior pastor of the host church is former state representative Tim Remington (R-2B), appointed in 2020 by Governor Little.
Titled “LIBERTY, THE CONSTITUTION, AND KOOTENAI COUNTY,” the all-day CSPOA event is slated to include an afternoon session open to the public and a morning session “Open to Law Enforcement, Incumbents and Candidates,” in the words of a flyer circulating about the event.
Anti-Mormon Bigotry
Interestingly for Richard Mack and Sam Bushman, who are Mormon, the church also aims animus at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church.
The website of The Altar Church features a section on “Apologetics,” which includes multiple videos attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In a December 2018 sermon, Pastor Danny Cleave quoted the Apostle Paul in Galatians warning against those that would “pervert the Gospel of Christ, directing, “But that we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached, let him be accursed.”[1] Cleave concluded, “I believe that that passage of scripture was prophetic in regards to both Mormonism and the religion of Islam.”
Pastor Danny Cleave
Cleave went further in another video on the topic. Describing a Mormon claim of experiencing a “burning in your bosom,” in part as evidence of the Book of Mormon’s veracity, Cleave said he would “caution anyone to base truth off of a feeling. Feelings can be given by things other than God for certain…it’s no question that Satan himself could generate those feelings and cause us to feel something.”[2]
Cleave criticized Mormonism for a lack of archaeological evidence in support of the history told in the Book of Mormon, even as his own church claims that “an honest” reader of the Bible would have “plenty of confidence” that the universe was created in “six literal days;” that the theory of evolution is a “lie;” and the idea of an earth millions-of-years old “unscientific.”[3]
Anti-LGBTQ+ and Anti-Abortion
The Altar Church makes clear its religiously-constructed bigotry against LGBTQ+ people, lumping “homosexuality, lesbianism, [and] bisexuality” with “bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography” as “sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.” Continuing that, “We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance,” the group declares, “We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman.”[4]
The Altar Church also holds that the state should be “answerable to God and governed by His Word” and rejects rape, incest, and “physical mental well being (sic) of the mother” exceptions for abortion:
“Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical mental well being of the mother are acceptable.”[5]
CSPOA Idaho Connections
CSPOA and its leaders have some known interactions with Idaho law enforcement. In May 2021, sitting Idaho County Sheriff Doug Ulmer posted a photo of himself with CSPOA trainer KrisAnne Hall on his “Doug Ulmer Idaho County Sheriff” Facebook page. Ulmer wrote, “Had the opportunity to meet KrisAnn (sic) Hall…Great speaker if you get the opportunity to attend one of her events it’s very informative.”[6]
KrisAnne Hall is a CSPOA trainer who holds that the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution – cornerstones of civil and voting rights– are unlawful. Hall’s ideas have also influenced Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights network.
That same year, at a meeting of the Nez Perce County Republican Committee, Sheriff Ulmer was photographed with Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb—head of the “Constitutional Sheriff” group, Protect America Now (PAN) and a CSPOA member. Lamb’s group PAN is a far-right sheriff group that, like CSPOA, has entered the fray of activism around allegations of electoral fraud. Ulmer thanked sitting Nez Perce County Sheriff Bryce Scrimsher (also in the photo) for the invite to the event.
In 2014, CSPOA circulated a petition opposing Obama-administration gun policies and a related list of “sheriffs, state sheriff’s associations, and police chiefs [that] have vowed to uphold and defend the Constitution against Obama’s unconstitutional gun control measures.” CSPOA described that “the list below includes members of the CSPOA and any others who have gone on record to uphold their oath by having made public statements, written open letters or contacted us personally and asked to be included.”[7]
Currently sitting sheriffs whose names appeared on the CSPOA list include Twin Falls County Sheriff Tom Carter, described as a “CSPOA Member,” Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman, listed as signing the petition, and Bonner County Sheriff Darryl Wheeler, Canyon County Sheriff Kiernan Donahue, Clearwater County Sheriff Chris Goetz, and Washington County Sheriff Matt Thomas.[8]
According to the Boundary County Sheriff’s Department, a corporal who “may have had contact with the CSPOA and/or Richard Mack” retired effective April 1, 2024.[9]
The website Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs described Sheriff Wheeler, Sheriff Donahue, Sheriff Goetz, and Sheriff Carter as CSPOA members. However, this claim’s source is unclear and may be based simply on their appearance on the CSPOA list.[10]
The Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs declares its website “designed to be a one-stop place where citizens in the state can see if their sheriff, or candidate running for sheriffs, has pledged to uphold the Constitution, rather then (sic) the whims of the Federal Government;” that the website “will include the details of why we gave them this rating;” and describing that “If the sheriff in your county belongs to CSPOA we’ve given them a rating of Constitutional Sheriff for the time being. That can change if you have verifiable information we can use. We’ll still include the detail that they are a member of CSPOA.”[11]
Writing in 2022 for the far-right Idaho Dispatch, Doug Traubel cited CSPOA-trained officers as those who “know what the Constitution is.” In contrast to “weak establishment office holders…up for re-election in two years,” Traubel named current Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler and Adams County Prosecutor Chris Boyd as “the only two exceptions I am aware of that put their oath in action.”[12]
IREHR has sent public records requests and our concern about CSPOA’s recruitment efforts to sheriffs across Idaho. In the meantime, community members and law officers must make clear that CSPOA has no business in law enforcement.
NOTES
[1] The Altar Church Dec. 5, 2018 Apologetics, Mormonism Part I Pastor Danny Cleave.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3bG_YInb7o
[2] The Altar Church Dec. 5, Dec. 18, 2018, Apologetics, Mormonism Part II, Pastor Danny Cleave. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tS2t1SF2D4
[3] The Altar Church. Did God Create the World in Six Literal Days?. https://altarcda.com/did-god-create-the-world-in-six-literal-days/; The Altar Church. Is the Theory of Evolution True?. https://altarcda.com/evolution/; The Altar Church. Dec. 18, 2018, Apologetics, Mormonism Part II, Pastor Danny Cleave. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tS2t1SF2D4Accessed April 5, 2024
[4] The Altar Church. Statement of Faith. https://altarcda.com/statement-of-faith/. Accessed April 5, 2024.
[5] The Altar Church. Statement of Faith. https://altarcda.com/statement-of-faith/. Accessed April 5, 2024.
[6] Doug Ulmer Idaho County Sheriff. Facebook. May 7, 2021.
[7] Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. GROWING LIST OF SHERIFFS, ASSOCIATIONS AND POLICE CHIEFS SAYING ‘NO’ TO OBAMA GUN CONTRO. February 1, 2024. WayBackMachine. https://web.archive.org/web/20140530105709/http://cspoa.org/sheriffs-gun-rights/
[8] Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. GROWING LIST OF SHERIFFS, ASSOCIATIONS AND POLICE CHIEFS SAYING ‘NO’ TO OBAMA GUN CONTRO. February 1, 2024. WayBackMachine. https://web.archive.org/web/20140530105709/http://cspoa.org/sheriffs-gun-rights/
[9] Boundary County Sheriffs Office. Email response to public records request. April 4, 2024.
[10] The Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs website states the following; Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman: “a solid Consitutional (sic) Sheriff. He has partnered with sheriffs from Washington and Payette counties, as well as Malhuer (sic) County in Oregon, in an effort to defend the citizens of their counties from federal government overreach.”
Bonner County Sheriff Darryl Wheeler: “Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler is a member of the Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officer Association.”
Canyon County Sheriff Kiernan Donahue: “Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue is a member of the Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officer Association. However, there are reports that this is a recent development. According to sources Sheriff Donahue didn’t even know what the CSPOA was until recently and according to his opponent had called organizations like OathKeepers ‘anti-Law Enforcement’ organizations.”
Clearwater County Sheriff Chris Goetz: “Clearwater County Sheriff Chris Goetz is a member of the Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officer Association.”
Twin Falls County Sheriff Tom Carter is a member of the Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officer Association.
Washington County Sheriff Matt Thomas: “Washington County Sheriff Matt Thomas is a solid Consitutional (sic) Sheriff. He has partnered with sheriffs from Adams and Payette counties, as well as Malhuer County in Oregon, in an effort to defend the citizens of their counties from federal government overreach. Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs. Adams County. https://www.idahocs.org/Adams.html; Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs. Bonner County. https://www.idahocs.org/Bonner.html; Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs. Canyon County. https://www.idahocs.org/Canyon.html; Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs. Clearwater County. https://www.idahocs.org/Clearwater.html; Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs. Twin Falls County. https://www.idahocs.org/TwinFalls.html; Idaho Constituti0nal Sheriffs. https://www.idahocs.org/Washington.html. Accessed April 5, 2024.
[11] Idaho County Sheriffs. https://www.idahocs.org/. Accessed April 4, 2024.
[12] Traubel, Doug. Op-Ed: WWCSD? What Would a Constitutional Sheriff Do?. The Idaho Dispatch. Octdober 28, 2022. https://idahodispatch.com/op-ed-wwcsd-what-would-a-constitutional-sheriff-do/
