'She's a disgrace': Defeated former Sheriff Graziano should NEVER again serve in law enforcement

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC- On election day, Republican Carl Ritchie defeated incumbent Democrat Kristin Graziano in the sheriff’s race in Charleston County. Graziano was elected in 2020 as the “first female and openly gay sheriff” in South Carolina. Her term turned out to be a disaster. 

In November, the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into Graziano’s refusal to provide ICE detainer records, accusing her of wilful obstruction. Based on that, Graziano should never again hold a position in law enforcement after abdicating her oath of office.  

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she was trying to get transparency and said Graziano’s defiance of the House request was an attempt to avoid accountability, ABC-4 News reported. In response, Graziano claimed Mace was “on the side of chaos.” 

Yet chaos is precisely what Graziano facilitated, and Mace was having none of it. 

“Our message is simple: hand over the documents or prepare for a subpoena,” Mace said. “Stonewalling Congress won’t fly, and I won’t stand by while public safety is put at risk. Graziano needs to answer for her actions, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make it happen.” 

Graziano claimed Mace was trying to “influence a local election” and said her office was “following the law.” 

When Graziano took office, as the good, obedient “progressive” Democrat she is, she rescinded a “pre-existing agreement by which the Sheriff’s Office allowed sufficient hold time for ICE to take custody of illegal aliens prior to release,” the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation wrote in a press release. The letter further alleged that Graziano “refused to honor at least 51 detainer requests issued by ICE, according to ICE data.” One individual included “an illegal alien who was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor and then released back into the community.” 

In a letter to Graziano, Mace and Rep. Glen Grothman (R-WI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, demanded Graziano provide certain documents and copies of messages between the sheriff’s office staff and ICE employees. Graziano defied those requests. 

In a post on X, Mace outlined some of the offenses those released from custody despite ICE detainers were charged with. They included domestic violence, cocaine possession, assault, burglary, sexual exploitation of a minor, murder, rape, operators of drug factories, drug traffickers, and the list goes on. These offenses were committed by multiple offenders, totaling nearly 100 individuals. Yet Graziano took an oath to protect the citizens of her county. 

According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), one of those freed by Graziano was Randolph Clarke, who overstayed his visa and was arrested in September 2024 on two counts of soliciting a teenager for sex. ICE filed a detainer on Clarke the day after his arrest, however, they were told that “per the sheriff,” they couldn’t hold Clarke after he posted bond without a bona fide removal order signed by an immigration judge. The officer also told by the officer that “he [Clarke] has a GPS on, so he will be easy to find if y’all need him.” 

Fortunately, ICE was able to pick Clarke up within a couple of days; however, that was more a matter of luck than cooperation between the sheriff’s office and ICE. 

As CIS wrote, “sanctuary jurisdictions make deliberately unreasonable demands that ICE produce documents that are impossible to provide, which results in the release of criminal aliens who could be removed instead of being set free to offend again.” 

Ritchie, meanwhile, has said he will do “almost everything” in opposition to what Graziano did, including rescinding her sanctuary policy and reinstating the 287(g) partnership with ICE. That section is a program that allows DHS (of which ICE is a part) to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration law.” 

As for Graziano, she failed miserably at her job. If she ever were to return in a law enforcement capacity, it should be as a dog catcher, although, truth be told, that is an insult to dog catchers. Unfortunately, she never received a subpoena from the House committee, so she cannot be charged with contempt of Congress. But she should never serve in a law enforcement capacity again. She is an insult to the badge she wore.