Overview: The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department over the increasing number of deaths in county jail facilities according to a report by NBC News. Black Voice News was unable to independently confirm the report. However, if NBC’s reporting is accurate, it is unclear whether this investigation will be objective, impartial, and righteous, given that the current administration has a penchant for absolving Republicans of wrongdoing.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!S.E. Williams
A recent NBC News Palm Springs report suggested that “The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is stepping in to oversee the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.” However, I have been unable to independently confirm this report. There is no press release on the the federal DOJ website and a search of the site revealed no information.
The continued increase in the number of deaths in Riverside County jail facilities was cited as the impetus for this purported investigation. These deaths certainly warrant a DOJ investigation as noted by Black Voice News in its January 2024 investigative report that explored the spike in deaths in Riverside County jails in 2022. However, I can hardly imagine the Donald Trump enabler, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, overseeing any serious, objective and righteous investigation into our local Trump mini-me—Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
This is especially true since Bianco has never missed an opportunity–dating back to Trump’s first term in office–to do everything he can to get on Trump’s radar and profess his loyalty. Do you remember Bianco’s high volume resistance to every effort by CA Governor Gavin Newsom to keep Californians safe during the peak of COVID-19? Do you recall how it took a judicial mandate ordering Bianco to take required steps to protect inmates during the COVID crisis? And, what about the revelation and public outcry over Bianco’s membership in the far-right, anti-government militia group, the Oath Keepers?
Members of the Oath Keepers would later go on to be key players in the January 6, 2021 act of sedition against the U.S. government and several members of the organization were found guilty on related felony charges. Regardless of Trump’s pardons–they were indeed found guilty by a jury of their peers.
Back to Bianco. During Trump’s first term as president through today, Bianco remains a darling of Fox News where he knows the eyes of his hero will make note of him. To ensure Trump’s favor, Bianco even went so far as to falsely claim he and his team saved the president from a third assasination attempt even though both the Secret Service and the FBI had advised Bianco that the man in question was not a threat.
“Unfortunately, after a careful review of Ms. [Pam] Bondi’s record, and after hearing her responses to questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee, we have concluded that she will not vigorously enforce our country’s civil rights laws as they were intended and that she will not uphold the agency’s longstanding independence from undue political influences.”
The Leadership Council on Civil Rights
In true Trump fashion and regardless of the truth, Bianco helped flood the media with proclamations of his department’s heroism in saving Trump from certain assassination. As he spread this falsehood, he knew full well that by the time his narrative was debunked, most “Make America Great” again believers would have moved on to other breaking Trump distractions and his false narrative would live on in the minds of many that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco had single handily saved the Trumpites’ demi-god.
In the meantime, at least one Riverside County Supervisor has called for the establishment of an oversight committee for the Sheriff’s Department; and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Accountability Coalition has called for District Attorney Mike Hestrin to investigate the numerous claims levied against the sheriff in a recent lawsuit filed by a former Sheriff Department employee.
In light of these facts, even if the U.S. DOJ has launched an investigation into Bianco and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department it is difficult to see how any such investigation would be objective, impartial, righteous or find Bianco guilty of any shortcomings or violations. I say this because we’ve witnessed how the current administration has a penchant for absolving Republicans of any wrong doings.
With such lack of credibility exhibited by the current U.S. DOJ, any investigation by this agency into Chad Bianco has potential to put the current investigation by the CA DOJ in jeopardy. Although the U.S. DOJ is charged with investigating violations of federal law, and state DOJs investigate violations of state law, and they typically operate independently–though they may collaborate on occasions. However, there is an option under certain conditions, where the U.S. DOJ can supersede what is happening at the state level.
What if the U.S. DOJ did decide to launch an investigation into Bianco . . . let’s say, as a way to take control of any investigatory outcome. They would then be able to put the investigation through the Republican spin machine and rinse cycle . . . only to ultimately declare Bianco free and clear of any culpability. After all, the investigation into Bianco launched by CA Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2023, and that remains ongoing, is a “pattern and practices” investigation focused on potential civil rights violations.
In my opinion, under the current administration, any federal investigation into Bianco and the Riverside County Department that could potentially supersede the state’s investigation would be the wrong move if we, as Riverside County residents, have any hope of holding Bianco accountable for his failure to protect the lives those in county custody assigned to his care.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.