Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" -- is getting out of Arizona this weekend to be the headliner for the "Choose Liberty 2012" event, hosted by the Eastern Orlando Tea Party and the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity.
According to the sheriff's PR crew out in the desert, he's there just to talk and raise money.
"The sheriff has been invited to speak at the Tea Party event and accepted to help raise money," MCSO spokesman Jeff Sprong tells the Pulp. "He has traveled from California to New Hampshire on weekends, and it does not interfere with his normal duties as sheriff."
That's way less exciting than the stuff he does out west, like investigating President Obama's birth certificate (still), commemorating the 9/11 anniversary with an inmate coloring contest, or throwing an Elvis-themed party at the county jail.
(There's a reason our sister paper Phoenix New Times maintains a category called "Another Stupid-Sheriff Story.")
Aside from the gags -- like his famous pink underwear for inmates -- he's also been under investigation by the feds for more than 1,000 days.
He sounds about qualified to appear at this weekend's event alongside musical guest Bruce Bellott, who's known by a few hundred people for his song "Obama You're Fired."
But wait -- there's more.
By showing up to the "Choose Liberty 2012" event this weekend -- after you've dropped your $45, you get to take part in "activist" and "social media" hosted by American Majority, as well as "get out the vote" and "voter fraud prevention" training hosted by Americans for Prosperity. Heh.
Of course, there are a hot lunch and raffles throughout the day.
According to the MCSO, Sheriff Joe's taking the expenses-paid trip courtesy of the event's host, and he's not even charging a dime to grace us with his presence.
Click here to catch up on the Arpaio legacy.
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