Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is suing multiple media outlets for defamation.
The suit, filed Monday in Washington, D.C., alleges CNN, Huffington Post and Rolling Stone published false information about Arpaio. The lawsuit claims CNN called him a "convicted felon" and Rolling Stone called him an "ex-felon." It also claims the Huffington Post wrote Arpaio was “sent to prison for contempt of court.”
The lawsuit claims the outlets acted with malice because Arpaio's conviction was not a felony but a misdemeanor, and he was never sent to prison.
The outlets were likely referring to the former sheriff's conviction last year, where he was found guilty of criminal contempt for violating a judge's order to stop racial profiling.
President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio in August 2017. But the lawsuit alleges that wasn't enough. It claims Arpaio's reputation and "distinguished 55-year law enforcement and political career" was harmed by the outlets, making it difficult for him to receive funding for his possible Senate run in 2020.
Arpaio is seeking more than $300 million in damages.
In October, the former sheriff also filed a lawsuit against the New York Times alleging an opinion piece published about him contained "several false, defamatory factual assertions" and harmed his possible Senate run.
