An elected official sworn to protect his county failed the most basic of civics questions in humiliating fashion on Monday.
As Axios reported, the North Carolina General Assembly interrogated Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, a Democrat, on a wide range of issues, including immigration and the deaths that occurred in county jails under his watch.
His handling of immigration received the most scrutiny, with many lawmakers blasting him for his handling of the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska last August. Blood is on McFadden’s hands because a career criminal who had no business on the streets to begin with committed the offense.
The hearing then took a rough turn for McFadden when North Carolina Republican State Rep. Allen Chesser decided to test his constitutional knowledge with a very basic question: What branch of government does McFadden operate under?
The correct answer, of course, is the executive branch, given a sheriff’s role in enforcing laws. But a clueless McFadden instead repeatedly gave the wrong answer, saying “Mecklenberg County” and “the U.S. Constitution.”
Chesser then asked McFadden how many branches of government exist (three). Unsurprisingly, the sheriff had no clue.
The Republican lawmaker went on to name the three branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) to save time and asked McFadden again which branch he operated under.
Even with a multiple-choice version of the question, McFadden still got it wrong. He told Chesser his department fell under the judicial branch.
Then Chesser finally broke the truth to him.
Hellbound and Down 