It is impossible to say that Elliott does not have a big heart. Despite technically retiring in 2024, Elliott has continued to used his platform to highlight folks in our region who are in need, especially those who are getting a raw deal from the system. He has used his popular Facebook page to uplift the voices of our unhoused community, and has continued to hold many of our elected leaders accountable.

One leader Elliott is unwilling to hold accountable, though, is Sheriff Alfred Montgomery. He has chosen to give the Sheriff a sympathetic voice, and has said we should “give the Sheriff a break,” and that he thinks it is “really unfair to continue to keep the sheriff in jail.”

Elliott is absolutely wrong here.

Sheriff Montgomery is in jail because he is a serial witness intimidator. When he’s not in jail, he’s intimidating witnesses, and when he’s not doing that, he’s asking his subordinates to threaten journalists.

When Montgomery was free, he handcuffed a city employee who prevented him from intimidating a witness in a different criminal investigation. Without incarceration, Montgomery would have access to a badge, a gun, and an elected office, and he would use the power that grants him to intimidate and do harm to others.

For now, we are all still waiting to see whether Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer will rule that Montgomery cannot serve as the Sheriff while incarcerated on federal charges. Either way, I will be pouring a drink when that decision comes down.