The Rise of the Anti-Lockdown Sheriffs
After weeks of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said Wednesday that retailers and churches in the state may open at partial capacity, but that gyms and salons must stay closed, and that residents must wear face masks in public.
But the 65,000 residents of Chaves County have little to fear should they violate these orders.
Coronavirus Coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, criminal justice and immigration. Related Stories
“My department will not be out citing anyone for not wearing a mask,” Mike Herrington, the county sheriff, told The Marshall Project on Thursday. “I will not be enforcing any of those orders.” Herrington has already allowed at least one gym, among other businesses, to reopen in recent weeks.
Chaves County—which has reported 30 positive diagnoses of COVID-19, and two related deaths—encompasses Roswell, the town famous for its association with a debunked-but-widely-believed UFO sighting in the 1940s. It’s also one of many rural communities hit hard by the recent economic shutdown; the cancellation of the annual UFO Festival this month potentially deprived local businesses of a.
