ANTIFA, Jan. 6: How Jeff Hales brings right-wing views into Vanderburgh Co. sheriff race

EVANSVILLE — Jeff Hales is a Christian conservative who happened to be a police officer.

That’s how the Republican candidate for Vanderburgh County sheriff described himself in 2021 when he explained via Facebook his decision to seek elected office.

There were many pros to running, he said, and only one con: scrutiny.

Hales is running on a conservative platform. And the extent of that is made apparent in his social media posts.

The Courier & Press reviewed Hales’ accounts on Facebook, Twitter and the Donald Trump-backed Truth Social. His posts show the former Evansville Police Department detective running the gamut of right-wing talking points, from supporting Kyle Rittenhouse to making anti-transgender posts to retweeting celebrity outrage over the supposed cancellation of a cartoon dog.

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He claims Donald Trump "didn't lose" the 2020 election and denies that systemic racism exists in policing. His campaign site touches on local issues such as jail overcrowding and drugs, but those topics go mostly untouched on social media.

His opponent, Noah Robinson, says he’s a moderate Democrat and has pledged to keep the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s office as apolitical as possible if elected.

"While I come from a long line of Democratic sheriffs, I am no more or less 'liberal' than Sheriff Eric Williams or Sheriff Brad Ellsworth," Robinson told the Courier & Press.

The winner of the race will replace current Sheriff Dave Wedding. Wedding was elected to both of his terms as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican party in 2020. Nowhere in the description of a sheriff's duties is politics mentioned.

But it's ultimately a partisan choice voters will make when they head to the polls Nov. 8 to select the next Vanderburgh County sheriff.

The Courier & Press reached out to Hales and Vanderburgh County Republican Party Chairman Mike Duckworth for comment on some of Hales' social media posts and comments. Hales originally did not respond, but after a meeting with Duckworth, did answer written questions submitted to Duckworth and passed along to him.

Duckworth said Hales felt there was not a "good trust level" between the Courier & Press and himself due to previous coverage and an issue with a photo of Hales used by the newspaper.

Hales used Wedding's decision to switch parties as an example of how the position of sheriff is political. He said the left continues to push anti-police rhetoric.

"As sheriff I cannot align myself with a party that has attacked policing and stood by while cities burn and officers are attacked," Hales told the Courier & Press in an emailed response to questions.

The Courier & Press asked Hales about his rhetoric toward Democrats throughout the campaign. He said it wasn't "rhetoric," but a reflection of the "past history and actions" of the party.

"I do not know what my opponent will do, but the above listed items (defunding the police, taking guns from citizens), are factual from his party," he said. "When you align with a political party that has said and done these things, then it should be expected these action are a possibility."

@EvillePiggy

In February 2022, Hales joined Truth Social.

Under the username @EvillePiggy, his bio states he is a Navy veteran and Trump-loving conservative constitutionalist. His posts are not private.

“I’m a MAN baby!! No masculine toxicity,” the bio reads. “Love God, guns and country!!”

Hales’ cover photo is an unflattering meme of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and his profile picture shows him posing with Trump, who he calls "the boss," during one of the former president’s visits to Evansville. His location is marked in Evansville and there is a link to the “Hales4Sheriff” campaign website.

Less than a month before from the May 3 primary, for which Hales was on the ballot, he responded to a Fox News TruthSocial post with COVID-19 conspiracy.

“You watch,” he wrote. “COVID will be ‘unbearable’ again right before the elections and Dems will want mail voting!”

Hales told the Courier & Press he believes COVID-19 is real. He has had it three times and is also vaccinated.

"I also believe it's been used as a political tool," he said.

Two days before the primary he "ReTruthed" – Truth Social's version of "retweet" – a post from country singer Travis Tritt about white supremacy. In the post, Tritt writes that he's been hearing for more than a decade that white supremacy is the "biggest threat" to America.

"That simply isn't true," Tritt continues. "We've been seeing a ton of mass race-based killings recently and none of them have anything to do with 'white supremacy.'"

Tritt used the Waukesha Christmas Parade killings and shootings on a New York subway as examples. Both men arrested in those incidents were Black.

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"Many other examples exist," Tritt wrote in the post shared by Hales. "None of these crimes have anything to do with 'white supremacy.'"

Less than two weeks after the post, a white 18-year-old shot 13 people in a Buffalo, New York supermarket, killing 10. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black. According to USA Today reporting, the rifle confiscated from the man had the names of other mass shooters written on it, as well as racial slurs and other statements, including "Here's your reparations!" The man faces federal hate crime charges.

The Courier & Press asked Hales if he believes white supremacy is a real problem in the U.S.

"I do not," he said. "I believe political elites continue to stir this issue to divide our nation."

Hales also uses the platform for campaign efforts, asking for support from well-known conservative figures such as Donald Trump Jr., radio host Dan Bongino and singer Ted Nugent. None of them responded.

“I’m a hard core Republican running for Sheriff in Vanderburgh Co. Indiana (Evansville),” Hales wrote to Trump Jr. on April 29. “Met the boss when he was here, and even worked Secret Service detail the 2nd time!”

The Jan. 6 insurrection

On Sept. 20, Hales took to Truth Social to address the possibility of another Trump presidency.

“When he wins … have no more mercy! Bury them!” he said in reply to a post stating Democrats are terrified of Trump running for office again.

When the Courier & Press asked Hales if he believed Trump did not lose the 2020 election, he declined to answer the question, instead responding, "this has nothing to do with being elected Sheriff."

He's also defended some of the people who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks at the U.S. Capitol. Six hours before making his Truth Social post on Sept. 20, during a candidate forum at the Evansville Rotary Club, Hales had told the crowd that he didn't believe all participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection were there to cause harm.

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During a Fraternal Order of Police candidate forum the next evening, Hales became worked up when the insurrection came up again.

“The thing that aggravates me about this question, bar none, is where is the question that talks about ANTIFA and a whole year beating up on officers, burning buildings, tearing up stuff,” he said. “Where’s the question in any of this that talks about the fact that hundreds of officers…"

At that point, Hales stopped mid-sentence, handed the microphone back to the moderator, and sat down.

Issues with the federal government

Questions about Jan. 6 also provided a glimpse into Hales’ views on the “higher echelons” of federal agencies.

“I have a problem with the top tiers of the FBI overstepping their boundaries, the IRS overstepping their boundaries and any other high-tier law enforcement agency,” he told the Rotary. “I think that’s one of the jobs of the sheriff: to make sure they don’t come in here and overstep their bounds.”

He told the FOP the upper levels of the FBI and IRS need to be "addressed" on a regular basis.

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“Do I get to address that? Absolutely I do not because I’m a local sheriff,” he said. “But that’s my job and that’s why you elect me. That’s when it becomes political.”

When asked what defense against federal overreach meant in the role of a local sheriff, Hales said that's the reason the U.S. has states and counties. Hales said it falls on the sheriff to protect all citizens.

"The states can protect themselves from federal government overreach of power," he said. "Vanderburgh County citizens have the right to do the same."

Contempt for the federal government doesn’t just apply to agencies, but individual members, as well. Hales responded to a Truth Social post from Bongino which called United States Attorney General Merrick Garland a “disgrace to mankind.”

Bongino’s post was made the day of the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where confidential documents were found that were said to have been taken from the White House.

“Don’t underestimate Garland planting evidence,” Hales said in the post.

The Courier & Press asked Hales if he believed Garland planted evidence against Trump. Like with the question about the 2020 election, he again declined to directly answer, responding that that such a question has nothing to do with being elected sheriff. The claim that the FBI planted evidence ahead of the Mar-a-Lago raid has been pushed by Trump, as well as his supporters, via social media.

Hales' issue with the federal government also extends to President Joe Biden. On Twitter, Hales liked a tweet calling Biden a “racist-imbecile” in June 2020.

He also posted to Truth Social on Aug. 28 asking where the “media” was in regard to the alleged release of Ashley Biden’s diary.

“Ashley Biden’s diary mentions 'showers with her dad,'” he said. “Where is the media?”

According to PolitiFact, federal officials confirmed the "journal" of a politician's family member had been stolen. However, neither whose diary it was, nor the contents of the diary, were publicly released.

Campaign Facebook

Like many conservatives, despite feeling that mainstream social media platforms censor them, Hales doesn’t isolate his beliefs to sites such as TruthSocial.

His campaign Facebook page shares reminders to vote Republican if residents are “unhappy with the ‘Democratic way’ of defunding the police” through “social programs.”

Robinson said his ideas to improve mental health care and substance abuse treatment for those in jail has been labeled "defunding the police" by Hales.

"Never mind the fact that I have consistently called for adding more sheriff's deputies to protect our schools," Robinson said, "and for targeting drug dealers and violent offenders."

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Hales also continued the “defund the police” rhetoric toward Democrats as a whole. He said they promoted “riots” in 2020 and 2021, while Republican-led cities and states stopped attempts of “rioting” and allowed peaceful protests, while also supporting local law enforcement.

Protests in the wake of police killing Black citizens, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, happened in all 50 states and across slews of cities, no matter the political parties of the people leading them. By June 2020, USA Today had produced a map showing at least 1,700 protests. Protests continued to grow as the summer progressed, including in Evansville and other Indiana cities.

Personal pages

Public posts on Hales’ personal Facebook also comment on protests in response to police killings.

He said on Nov. 19, 2021, that watching 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse react to his not-guilty verdict hurt his heart. Rittenhouse was on trial for shooting and killing two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin during protests in the summer of 2020 after the police shot, and ultimately paralyzed, a Black man named Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse, an Illinois resident, drove across state lines, saying he was there to protect businesses in Wisconsin. The trial garnered national attention and showed a visible political divide in the country on the topics of race and firearms.

“I feel for that young man,” Hales stated.

Following the not-guilty verdict, Rittenhouse became a conservative celebrity, making the rounds on Fox News and most recently starting a YouTube channel to talk about the Second Amendment.

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Hales’ personal Twitter, which he has not posted on since 2021, focused largely on Donald Trump. It also showed his interest in right-wing talking points.

In June 2020, as the U.S. grappled with policing after the George Floyd killing, some critics blasted TV shows' overwhelmingly positive portrayal of police, leading some programs to alter their approach. According to right-wing critics, it also led some to call for the “cancelation” of Chase: a cartoon dog in “Paw Patrol.”

That sparked outrage among some Republicans, including President Donald Trump. Actress Kirstie Alley tweeted that Chase’s supposed detractors were “f-----g moronic twits”: a sentiment Hales retweeted. “Paw Patrol,” however, was not canceled. Chase remains on the case in the show’s ninth season.

Also in 2020, Hales responded to a sponsored Coca-Cola tweet from NASCAR driver Joey Logano about ending systemic racism.

“Ask one of the 100,000 black officers in America if there is 'systematic racism' in policing,” Hales said. “You are doing them a huge disservice! If policing as a whole is racist…why aren’t black cops screaming it?”

The Courier & Press asked Duckworth, the local GOP leader, about several of the issues Hales has brought up in candidate forums and on social media. He only replied to the part about systemic racism.

Duckworth said neither Hales nor the local Republican party has "any feeling" that there's systemic racism in police departments.

"Of course we have to look at our local departments here. Evansville city police department, that has Republican oversight due to Mayor Winnecke being there, and I know he would not tolerate that by any ways or means," Duckworth said. "The sheriff’s department with Wedding, I don’t believe that’s happening there as well."

But are there police officers in city, county, state and federal agencies who are racist? Duckworth said there probably are.

"I don't think you can just throw everyone in a sack and try to paint that picture," he said.

Abortion and LGBTQ issues

About two weeks after the May 3 primary, Hales responded to a Newsmax article shared via Truth Social quoting Aimee Arrambide, executive director of Avow Texas. Testifying before the House Judicial Committee, Arrambide said she believed men could have an abortion.

As abortion discussions continue nationally, there are efforts to use language such as “pregnant people,” as opposed to just "women." The aim is to avoid excluding trans men and others with varying gender identities who can still get pregnant.

“IF…..IF, men can get pregnant….does that mean men don’t have to be unheard and quiet anymore about abortion,” Hales responded to the post.

He also weighed in on transgender participation in sports by sharing a poster calling out to all “mediocre males” who right-wing media have accused of transitioning just to take part in women's sports. The image is an edited version of the cover to “Defending the American Way: Sport, Culture, and the Cold War.”

It states women’s medals, records and scholarships are up for grabs, and to call the ACLU to find out how to participate.

“Live your dream by ruining theirs,” the poster reads.

The Courier & Press asked Hales his beliefs on the LGBTQ community and if those feelings would impact how an inmate or member of the sheriff office staff would be treated under his watch.

"Please reference the post," he said. "I'm 'pro-woman' since I have two daughters, and I am not 'anti-trans.'"

But he followed that by saying, "no men in women's sports."

Deputies vs. the sheriff

In public remarks, Hales has said the political beliefs of deputies in the sheriff's office don't matter. But they do for the sheriff.

"That's what the sheriff does, is the sheriff brings in his views of conservatism, not defunding the police, making sure that your businesses aren't burned to the ground," he told the Rotary in September.

But according to the Vanderburgh County sheriff website, the duties of the sheriff and his deputies are “virtually identical.”

The specific duties of the sheriff include arresting, detaining, and taking individuals to court. There's also suppressing breaches of the peace; pursuing all felons; serving all processes of the court; and caring for the county jail and its inmates. All of that is outlined in the Indiana Constitution.

"At the local level, we need a conservative sheriff that is not beholden to other politicians and political appointments," Hales said in an Aug. 11 blog post on his campaign site. "A sheriff that has no higher political aspirations other than to serve our community. A sheriff that knows and believes in the Constitution and will stand strong to defend the rights of the citizens of Vanderburgh County. A sheriff that will stand up to overreaches of any government entity."

The Courier & Press asked Hales if he felt the Constitution was not currently being upheld in the county, as well as how he felt he would uphold the Constitution in a way that Robinson would not. He said he could not know his opponent's intent – only the past actions of the Democratic party.

Vanderburgh has been a great place to live and work, he said. But "never say never."

"Fascism, socialism and Marxism is always a possibility," he said. "I've sworn to uphold the Constitution on four different occasions, the military twice, the VCSO and the EPD. I believe we have been heading away from our Constitutional republic."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How Jeff Hales brings right-wing views into Vanderburgh sheriff race