this is actually a pretty fair account for a mainstream outlet
Snohomish Co Sheriff Adam Fortney calls WA governor’s stay-home order unconstitutional
EVERETT — Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney called Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order unconstitutional and said he would not enforce it — prompting frustrated responses Wednesday from the governor, the state attorney general and the county executive.
Fortney expressed his discontent in a 1,100-word Facebook post after watching a public address by Inslee Tuesday evening. The sheriff added his voice to a chorus of largely conservative elected officials and protestors unhappy with the state’s order during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As your elected Sheriff I will always put your constitutional rights above politics or popular opinion,” Fortney wrote. “We have the right to peaceably assemble. We have the right to keep and bear arms. We have the right to attend church service of any denomination. The impacts of COVID-19 no longer warrant the suspension of our constitutional rights.”…..
More than 21,000 complaints have been logged by the state alleging violations of the stay-home directive. State agencies have largely relied on voluntary compliance and have yet to initiate enforcement action on any of them. The attorney general has sued a property management firm for allegedly violating an eviction moratorium order.
“Sheriff Fortney does not get to decide what is constitutional,” state Attorney General Bob Ferguson tweeted Wednesday. “That is up to the courts. I plan to follow up directly with Sheriff Fortney.”
Fortney is the top cop in the state’s third-most-populous county, with an estimated 822,000 residents. As sheriff in a non-partisan post, Fortney is also in charge of the county jail, where at least two past inmates have tested positive for the virus.
Snohomish County had the nation’s first announced case of COVID-19 and one of the first U.S. deaths. To date, there have been 2,209 confirmed and 177 probable cases of COVID-19, and 98 deaths, the health district reported Wednesday. Statewide, there have been 12,494 confirmed cases and 692 fatalities.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-county-sheriff-questions-governors-stay-home-order/