More than half of Arizona’s county sheriffs are at least partially aligned with a growing movement of so-called “constitutional sheriffs” whose ideology could radicalize law enforcement by indoctrinating them with false legal theories, according to a months-long AZCIR investigation. The theories promote an exaggerated definition of sheriffs’ authority, urging them to nullify laws they interpret as unconstitutional.

Four Arizona sheriffs have direct connections to Protect America Now or the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA)—both labeled as anti-government extremist organizations by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks domestic extremism. They are described as far-right nationalist and anti-democratic organizations by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.

The groups are on the front lines of what domestic extremism experts warn is a troubling marriage between anti-democratic, anti-government groups and county sheriffs throughout the nation.

Arizona, they say, is “ground zero” for the movement.

In this ongoing series, AZCIR’s Isaac Stone Simonelli explores both the origins and ramifications of this growing national movement, including how one current and one former Arizona sheriff are at the forefront of efforts one expert calls “destabilizing to democracy and the safety and well-being of public officials.”