Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio received a package on Friday, which was soon turned over to a bomb squad after a postal inspector deemed it suspicious, CNN reported. Sheriff Arpaio, known for his hard-line anti-immigration policies, received the package, and it remains unclear whether it contained an explosive device, nor if the item contained any bomb components, a law enforcement official told CNN.
The package was considered suspicious enough to call a local police bomb squad and the FBI.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also is investigating the circumstances, spokesman Mike Campbell said.
Sheriff Arpaio's office is in Flagstaff, about 150 miles north of Phoenix. He has housed thousands of inmates in tents, and oft-times humiliated them, even forcing them to wear pink underwear, and boasting about feeding each one on less than $1 a day.
His critics also charged that he has a long history of launching bogus criminal investigations against his political opponents; he was the subject of a civil lawsuit by the Justice Department alleging civil rights violations.
The complaint said that the sheriff's office displayed a pattern of discrimination against Latinos, including racial profiling, unlawful detention and searches, as well as unlawful targeting of Latinos during their raids.
Arpaio has denied any kind of discrimination, and his attorneys have called the Justice Department's investigation as a "witch hunt."
His office website touts his "get tough" policies and says his chain gangs contribute thousands of dollars of free labor to the community.
Even though Sheriff Arpaio is 80 years old, he has no plans to leave office. There is even a Facebook page called "People Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio," with nearly 120,000 followers.
"For my critics out there, I'm going to say right now: In January, I'm signing up for 2016. So I'm not a lame duck," he said.
