Trump’s Woke DEA Pick Arrested Pastor, Released Criminals

President-elect Donald Trump has made several impressive picks to help carry out his America First agenda, like Kash Patel for FBI director, Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, and Tom Homan as “border czar.” But his pick for Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) administrator, Chad Chronister, doesn’t belong anywhere near a position of power.

Chronister currently serves as sheriff in Hillsborough County, Florida, and Trump says Chronister will work to “secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES.”

But surely Trump could’ve chosen a candidate who didn’t throw a Christian pastor in jail, release criminals, or threaten the unvaccinated.

Under Chronister’s leadership, Tampa Bay Pastor Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested for *checks notes* holding a church service. The county had directed people to stay in their homes except when engaging with “essential services”, which did not include church.

Howard-Browne defied the draconian lockdown orders and was promptly arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on two second-degree misdemeanors for unlawful assembly and violation of public health emergency rules. Chronister said Howard-Browne’s “reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week in danger.”

Charges were eventually dropped against Howard-Browne, and Howard-Browne even endorsed Chronister’s nomination. But the damage had already been done. Chronister was all too eager to lock up a pastor for exercising his constitutional right to worship while turning a blind eye to actual threats to public safety.

Chronister let over 160 “low-level, non-violent” criminals out of jail to “protect” people from Covid-19. Within a month of being released, 15 of them had been arrested again on new charges, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

As if that weren’t enough, Chronister turned authoritarian during the pandemic, openly vowing to discriminate against unvaccinated employees using taxpayer funds!

“I put out a policy a while ago that if you are unvaccinated and you have to quarantine or you get ill you have to use your own accrued time,” the king — I mean, Chronister — threatened employees. “If you are vaccinated and you get sick the sheriff’s office will cover your time off.”

Chronister also refused to take seriously a statewide immigration law, Senate Bill 1718, that seeks to crack down on illegal immigration by including consequences for individuals who transport illegals and for employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Chronister rushed to social media to gush about the “rich diversity” of Hillsborough County and let the public know his goal is to “foster strong partnerships with all residents regardless of background.” He said that his office would not “target individuals based on their immigration status” since, according to Chronister, immigration enforcement is the job of “federal agencies.”

Trump needs a leader who prioritizes American safety and constitutional rights — not someone who is willing to sacrifice one or both at the expense of his constituents. At a time when the nation faces real throughs from an open border and illegal drugs and crime, the DEA must be led by someone who has the tenacity to do what’s right at all times even if it’s unpopular and Chronister has proven he’d rather just do what’s politically expedient.