Nevada lawmakers under fire for blowing $2,500 on membership in far-right extremist group

According to The Daily Beast, Lander County, Nevada is under fire for purchasing a $2,500 lifetime membership for the county in an extremist group that has ties to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

"A former mining boom community in the Nevada desert, Lander County is the rural home to fewer than 10,000 residents," reported Kelly Weill. "But after a 4-1 vote by its board of commissioners, it's the first in the nation with a dubious distinction: Lander will become a county-level member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a right-wing group that promotes sheriffs as the last bastion of freedom and safety in Joe Biden's America."

According to the report, the membership will give residents lapel pins, a plaque, and a celebration event featuring Simone Gold, "a hydroxychloroquine-hyping doctor who is currently facing charges for allegedly entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot." Gold, who practices in California, was caught on video inside the Capitol during the attack.

CPSOA also has ties to Joe Arpaio, the infamous former Maricopa County sheriff who kept prisoners in scorching hot desert tent camps and was pardoned by former President Donald Trump from contempt of court charges stemming from racial profiling incidents.

Some residents and county officials are angry about the decision.

"I don't know why the county's joining organizations," said county Democratic Party chair Claudio Cardosa. "That should be left up to individuals, not counties. We've got that much money we can just join associations, right or left?"