OLYMPIA (AP) — The sheriff of Washington state’s third largest county, home to the city of Everett, says he won’t enforce Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, saying it violates people’s constitutional rights.
Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney announced his position on Facebook Tuesday night, following a statewide address by Inslee in which the governor said the state will not be able to lift many of the stay-at-home restrictions implemented to fight the coronavirus by May 4.
In the post, Fortney said Inslee “has no plan,” adding, “I can no longer stay silent as I’m not even sure he knows what he is doing or knows what struggles Washingtonian’s face right now.”
Fortney’s post came a day after Sheriff J.D. Raymond of Franklin County in southeast Washington sent a letter to county residents saying he also wouldn’t enforce the stay at home order.