WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The 85-year-old who has been called "America's toughest sheriff," was convicted for willfully disregarding a judge's order in 2011 to stop anti-immigrant traffic patrols.
"I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio," Trump stated in an interview with Fox News.
"He has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. He’s a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him."
Arpaio's sentencing is scheduled for October 5 and he could face up to six months in jail.
Arpaio, 83, is known for forcing inmates to live in tents and wear pink underwear under Arizona’s sweltering 115 degree temperatures.
The racial profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office cost Arizona taxpayers over $60 million in legal defense fees.
