Spokane County Sheriff: Politicians are afraid to stand up to agitators

This past year has seen a great of deal activism and agitation, both locally and across the country. While some think such activity will die down over time, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich thinks 2021 will see more, not less.

“I’m a firm believer in law and order, the Constitution, and the laws that are passed by the citizens of this country and of the state,” he told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “Our citizens don’t want to see this stuff. And I’ve made it very clear in Spokane County that we will not tolerate that type of action and we will arrest you.”

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“Now, of course, you have these activists that have the bail bonds projects and everything else to get them immediately out of jail,” he added. “But that’s the sad part about it, is that this is being condoned by politicians and elected leaders in those areas.”

Knezovich believes much of this reaction is not necessarily a result of sympathy, but politicians’ fear of standing up to the actions in their own communities.

“I don’t know if they’re so much sympathetic to it, but I think they’re afraid. I think they’re afraid to stand up and and say, ‘That’s it, we’re drawing the line. You’re not going to do this in our community,'” he said.

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“And I can tell you that at least the people of Spokane County — when all this was going on — I lost count of how many times I had citizens walk up to me and say, ‘Sheriff, I know I really don’t have to ask the question, but I gotta ask the question, you would never allow what happened in Seattle to happen in Spokane, would you?’ And the answer is definitely not,” Knezovich said.

He says the lengthy CHOP incident on Seattle’s Capitol Hill was a low point for the state of Washington.

“That was the darkest day for the state in many, many years to watch nine blocks of that city be taken over and turned into a crime-ridden area that were run by petty tyrants — that should have never have happened in this state.”

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.