The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday it is looking into one of its deputies after Arthur Jackman, her husband who is a member of far-right nationalist group the Proud Boys, was accused by federal prosecutors of participating in the U.S. Capitol riot.
Though the agency said there is “no evidence or indication” that Deputy Sarah Jackman was involved in the riot or is a member of an extremist group, it said “an inquiry under way concerning what information Deputy Jackman may have had about her spouse’s involvement in the events of Jan. 6.”
The agency’s unsigned statement didn’t say whether the probe will look into whether the deputy also has associations with the Proud Boys or other far-right organizations.
“Having said that, it would be concerning if a deputy is associated with people or groups that exhibit extremist ideology,” the statement said.
The agency confirmed its probe hours after the Orlando Sentinel reported the concerns of local police reform advocates about the deputy, who has worked at the Sheriff’s Office since 2015 and whose husband was reportedly a prominent figure in the far-right nationalist group’s Central Florida chapter.
“I’m supposed to trust you to enforce the law and treat me equally, but you don’t know what’s going on in your own house?” said Lawanna Gelzer, a leader of activist collective the Movement Coalition, after the accused rioter’s relationship to the deputy was made public.
The agency said it was made aware of Arthur Jackman’s impending arrest Tuesday morning by the FBI. Later that day, he appeared in court on charges of obstructing official proceedings before Congress and entering restricted grounds to impede or obstruct government business, facing up to 11 years in federal prison, if convicted.
He was among the hundreds arrested in connection to the riot, following a “Stop the Steal” rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where then-President Donald Trump urged supporters to “fight like hell” as federal lawmakers prepared to certify his Nov. 6 reelection loss to President Joe Biden.
Activists who spoke to the Sentinel on Wednesday called for Sarah Jackman to be removed from duty and for Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell to review past prosecutions in which the deputy was involved.
The State Attorney’s Office declined to comment further on the sheriff’s office investigation.
“We’ve been made aware of the allegations and respect OCSO’s decision to investigate Deputy Jackman’s knowledge and/or involvement of the incident that took place at the Capitol,” Worrell’s spokesperson Keisha Mulfort said. “It would be premature to state whether the State Attorney’s Office will investigate Deputy Jackman’s cases where she was the arresting officer.”
T.J. Legacy Cole, an Orlando activist and radio show host, said Thursday it doesn’t make sense for the agency to investigate its own deputy, given the concerning circumstances of this case. Either way, he said an investigation isn’t enough and called for Sarah Jackman to resign or Sheriff John Mina to fire her.
The sheriff’s office said in its statement the findings of its investigation into Sarah Jackman will be made public once it’s completed.
Arthur Jackman, who at one point was reportedly the vice president of the group’s Central Florida chapter, is one of more than a dozen members and leaders of the Proud Boys charged after the Jan. 6 riot. Federal prosecutors said the group coordinated to invade the U.S. Capitol with the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, two anti-government militia groups.
Though not a law enforcement officer, his tie to the Sheriff’s Office isn’t surprising to authorities and experts who study far-right infiltration into policing circles. The FBI said in a Feb. 25 document obtained by ABC News that these individuals “very likely seek affiliation with military and law enforcement entities in furtherance of” their ideologies.
Still, law enforcement agencies are largely unprepared to address far-right elements among their ranks, said Michael German, a former FBI agent and a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice.
“What we have to understand is that people in our police departments are part of our society and are influenced by these ideas, whether that’s by close relations like a family member or a friend from high school or their recreational activities on the job,” German said. “It’s part of the culture.”
According to a March report by the George Washington University Program on Extremism, 36% of those arrested for their role in the attempted insurrection with military backgrounds had ties to far-right groups. At least seven former or current law enforcement officers were also arrested, USA Today reported, though it’s not clear whether they had ties to extremists.
It’s unclear how many of the hundreds charged so far have familial ties to law enforcement.
OCSO said last month it “monitors any groups or individuals that could be a threat to public safety in Orange County,” stopping short of saying it specifically monitors the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers.
“We work very closely with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners so we are constantly sharing information” the agency said. “For obvious reasons, we don’t discuss specifics about any information gathering we may be doing.”
Staff writer Monivette Cordeiro contributed to this report.
