Fountain Hills resident and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has filed a complaint for alleged defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil assault by Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, a former Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs and current presidential candidate, for branding Arpaio as a murderer and gun smuggler, in a case styled Arpaio v. Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, (Palm Beach County, Florida).

Larry Klayman, the founder of both Judicial Watch and now Freedom Watch, and the latter’s current chairman and general counsel, filed the suit on Arpaio’s behalf.

“My client has been a fine and distinguished public servant for decades, serving not just as the sheriff for Maricopa County, Ariz., for almost 25 years, but also in various other high government posts including the Drug Enforcement Administration,” Klayman said. “For Mr. Ebrard to publish widely in Florida, nationally and internationally that Sheriff Arpaio ‘promotes the assassination of migrants’ to the United States, not only harms Arpaio’s reputation, but in effect is a call to violence against him by persons who would wrongly believe this.

“In fact, as alleged in the complaint, Arpaio has received death threats. Sheriff Arpaio initially asked Ebrard for an apology to mitigate the damage and imminent harm that was caused to him, including death threats, but was given the callous cold shoulder by Ebrard. And, when Arpaio asked the Biden administration and its National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, to help to clear his name, he was ignored, as he was by Senator Krysten Sinema, who was also summoned for assistance. Now, a jury of Arpaio’s peers will sit over this outrage and justice will be done.”