Indicted Idaho sheriff blames 'drunk Indians' after pulling a gun on teenage church group: report

On Thursday, The Daily Beast reported that an Idaho sheriff is facing felony charges after he pulled a gun on a church youth group going door to door in his neighborhood — and his excuse for why he did it is causing further controversy.

"Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland has been charged by the Idaho attorney general in connection with the Nov. 9 incident, which began when a Latter-day Saints youth group was delivering messages of thanks shaped like turkeys to those in their congregation," reported Allison Quinn. "A group of seven girls between age 12 and 16, along with their adult chaperone, was handing out the 'thankful turkeys' in Rowland’s neighborhood in the city of Blackfoot. The activity involved pinning the 'turkey' notes to doors, and then ringing the occupant’s doorbell and running away, leaving them to find the message. When the girls stopped at Rowland’s house, he allegedly told his wife to fetch him his gun because he was fearing a potential home invasion."

According to the report, even after Rowland read the friendly message, he pursued the girls' vehicle with a gun and — according to his own version of events — pulled their chaperone out by the hair and said "Who the f**k are you?" According to the girls, he also told the chaperone, "I will f**king shoot you."

His explanation for his behavior has only triggered more outrage.

"When first questioned about the incident, Rowland reportedly admitted to Blackfoot police that he had 'really screwed up,' but blamed his behavior on threats he said he and his wife had received that left him on edge — and Native Americans," said the report. "'I have been doing this job for 36 years,' Rowland was quoted telling investigators. 'I have had drunk Indians drive down my cul-de-sac. I’ve had drunk Indians come to my door. I live just off the reservation, we have a lot of reservation people around us that are not good people.'"

Sheriffs often have very few checks on their authority at the local level and have often been implicated in local misconduct scandals all around the country. In South Carolina, Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon was indicted this week for a 2020 incident in which he ordered an inmate already in custody to be tortured with a stun gun.

You can read more here.