But Mr. Arpaio insisted, publicly and repeatedly, that his office’s practices were legal and would not change, and advocates said the detentions continued. On Monday, Judge Bolton ruled that Mr. Arpaio had willfully violated the 2011 court order. In 2015, Judge Snow found Mr. Arpaio in civil contempt of court for violating the initial order, and prosecutors charged him with criminal contempt. Mr. Arpaio maintained in both cases that he had not willfully defied the court, and that any violations were committed by his underlings. Mr. Arpaio, who once called himself “America’s toughest sheriff,” made jail inmates wear pink underwear and served food that some prisoners called inedible.

Source: New York Times July 31, 2017 20:03 UTC