‘I will not help you survive the end of days’: Ohio sheriff’s lieutenant apologizes for saying he will ignore Democrats in need

In what is hopefully not a sign of these post-election times, an Ohio lieutenant has been forced to apologize after declaring that he would not help citizens who are Democrats. 

John Rodgers — who has served as a lieutenant for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for over 20 years — made the shocking comments in a series of Facebook posts that resurfaced online earlier this week. In the posts, some of which were shared over 250,000 times, Rodgers said he would demand voting proof to confirm citizens in need were not Democrats, and suggested that voting preferences would factor into his response to emergency calls. 

“If you support the Democratic Party, I will not help you,” one of Rodgers’ posts read. “The problem is that I know which of you supports the Democratic Party, and I will not help you survive the end of days.” Other posts reportedly saw Rodgers tell his followers that people would need to “provide proof of who you voted for” before he would provide aid, prompting outrage and concern among Clark County residents. Now, the lieutenant has responded to the controversy by apologizing for the posts and blaming them on prescription sleeping pills. 

“I know I cannot apologize enough, and my apologies may seem empty, but I will continue to apologize as long as necessary,” Rodgers said in a statement. “I know it will be difficult for the public to trust me, but I will do everything in my power to start mending that trust.” The Sheriff’s Office itself also apologized for the posts, saying “they in no means reflect the Clark County Sheriff’s Office delivery of service to ALL our community.” The office also committed “to work even harder to replenish the trust of members of our community.” 

In a self-written letter lodged in his personnel file, Rodgers claimed he did not recall either writing the posts or later taking them down, saying they were only brought to his attention when a coworker asked if he was OK. This, he said, was a side effect of the sleeping medication he takes on occasion, which causes him to send “out of character” texts, phone calls or other forms of communication. In response to the backlash, Rodgers deactivated his Facebook account and stopped taking the medication. 

The lieutenant was dealt a written reprimand by the Sheriff’s Office for violating the department’s social media policy, though — for some unknown reason — he was still allowed to remain on duty. The situation shines a renewed spotlight on Clark County, whose largest city, Springfield, made national headlines following Donald Trump’s false claims about its Haitian immigrants earlier this year. 

The former, and now imminent, president said without evidence during his second presidential debate that immigrants were eating Springfield’s neighborhood pets, a conspiracy theory also peddled by his running mate that was promptly debunked.

The timing of Rodgers’ Facebook posts right before Trump’s shocking election victory feels dire, and at the rate things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rodgers somehow landed a role in the new administration. Between him, Elon Musk and anti-fluoride champion RFK Jr., I think I’ve officially landed on my nightmare blunt rotation. Hey Alexa, play “Sound of Silence.” …Hello darkness, my old friend.