A federal court has found Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in contempt of court for violating orders to stop racially profiling Latinos, NBC News reported.
The ruling comes after the Arizona sheriff attempted to disobey the court’s order to overhaul the law enforcement agency’s policing practices. Arpaio acknowledged he violated the court's orders.
The racial profiling arose as part of Arpaio's widely publicized enforcement operations that target undocumented immigrants, but have had widespread consequences throughout the immigrant and Latino communities in Arizona.
The federal ruling states that Arpaio and his deputies "have demonstrated a persistent disregard for the orders of the Court, as well as an intention to violate and manipulate the laws and policies regulating their conduct.”
Arpaio has been a strong supporter of Republican Donald Trump and campaigned for him ahead of Arizona's primary.
