On August 25, 2017, President Donald Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio for criminal contempt of court, a misdemeanor.[1] Arpaio had been convicted of the crime two months earlier for disobeying a federal judge's order to stop racial profiling in detaining "individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally".[2][3] The pardon covered Arpaio's conviction and "any other offenses under Chapter 21 of Title 18, United States Code that might arise, or be charged, in connection with Melendres v. Arpaio."[4] The official White House statement announcing the grant of clemency described Arpaio as a "worthy candidate" having served the nation for more than fifty years "protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration."[2][5][6]
A number of law professors and political scientists described the pardon as troubling and unusual.[7][8][9][10] Several experts on authoritarianism described the pardon as illiberal and said that it undermined the rule-of-law.[10]U.S. District JudgeSusan R. Bolton, who handed down the guilty verdict,[1] did not vacate Arpaio's conviction, ruling that while the pardon relieves Arpaio of the burden of punishment, it does not change the facts of his crime.[11]