'Pardon Joe! Pardon Joe!' Phoenix rally crowd erupts in support for former sheriff Joe Arpaio as Trump says 'he's going to be just fine but I won't do it tonight'

  • President Trump said Tuesday night in Phoenix that he still might pardon Joe Arpaio, who faces up to six months in jail for defying a judge's order
  • Arpaio faces an October sentencing date for failing to put a halt to patrols that targeted Latino immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally
  • 'Pardon Joe!' a crowd of thousands chanted, before Trump asked: 'Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?'
  • The White House had thrown cold water on the idea, saying earlier in the day that there would be 'no discussion of that today at any point'
  • Trump defense of Arpaio was part of pushing for illegal immigration agenda, saying he would 'build the wall' even at the cost of shutting down government

President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday night in Arizona that he might issue a presidential pardon in the future to former Phoenix-area sheriff Joe Arpaio – just hours after the White House appeared to throw cold water on the idea.

Arpaio, 85, will be sentenced this fall for defying a judge's 2011 order demanding that he stop sanctioning traffic stops carried out on the basis of whether vehicle occupants appeared to be illegal immigrants.

'Do the people in this room like Sheriff Joe?' Trump asked a crowd of approximately 10,000 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

At the mention of his name a great cry went up, comparable to the intensity of volume that greeted the president himself.

'Pardon Joe! Pardon Joe!' they chanted.

President Donald Trump hinted Tuesday night in Phoenix, Arizona that he might pardon Joe Arpaio soon – but not immediately – while the former sheriff awaits sentencing for a criminal contempt conviction

The White House had thrown cold water on the idea of Trump pardoning Arpaio, shown addressing the 2016 Republican National Convention in 2016

The White House had thrown cold water on the idea of Trump pardoning Arpaio, shown addressing the 2016 Republican National Convention in 2016

Trump asked a rally crowd whether Arpaio was convicted 'for doing his job.' He was found guilty of ignoring a judge's order to put a halt to traffic stops based on racial profiling meant to identify illegal immigrants

Trump asked a rally crowd whether Arpaio was convicted 'for doing his job.' He was found guilty of ignoring a judge's order to put a halt to traffic stops based on racial profiling meant to identify illegal immigrants

'Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?' Trump asked, referring to a lone judge's verdict.

'He should have had a jury, but I'll make a prediction: I think he's going to be just fine.'

'But I won't do it tonight,' Trump said, because I don't want to cause any controversy.'

The White House had said earlier in the day that he wouldn't address the pardon question.

Trump spoke broadly about his campaign promises focusing on illegal immigration, saying that he was 'cracking down on these sanctuary cities' and 'building a wall on the southern border – which is absolutely necessary.'

'I think he's going to be just fine,' Trump said of Arpaio, 'but I won't do it tonight'

'I think he's going to be just fine,' Trump said of Arpaio, 'but I won't do it tonight'

'You elected me to put a stop to it,' he said of illicit border-crossings, 'and we are doing a phenomenal job.'

'One way or another, we're going to get that wall,' he pledged.

'Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it. But believe me – if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall,' Trump said.

Trump had previously told Fox News that he was 'seriously considering' the idea of making Arpaio the first beneficiary of his presidential clemency powers.

'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,' the president added two weekends ago.

An Arpaio pardon was at the top of a list of possible developments from Tuesday night's speech, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One that it wouldn't  be in the cards, at least not immediately.

'There will be no discussion of that today at any point, and no action will be taken on that front at any point today,' she said.

Trump regularly hailed his support from 'Sheriff Joe' on the campaign trail, despite his reputation as a controversial and polarizing figure. Arpaio got booted out of office in November, with Trump at the top of the ticket. 

Arpaio on Monday did not reveal any knowledge of inside information.

'Do you think he'll do it tomorrow night? Who knows,' Arpaio told NBC News. 'I don't know.'

He compared his own situation to that of Trump's having to contend with a special counsel investigation.

'I feel sad about what they're trying to do to him," Arpaio said. 'It's what they tried to do to me. The media – and the politicians.'

In late July the former Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff was found guilty of criminal contempt for violating a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case, brought to the courts by a group of Latinos, by continuing patrols that targeted suspected illegal immigrants.

Judge Susan Bolton wrote in her decision that Arpaio knew of the court order, but showed a 'flagrant disregard' for it.

'Not only did defendant abdicate responsibility, he announced to the world and to his subordinates that he was going to continue business as usual no matter who said otherwise,' Bolton wrote.  

Arpaio's defense attorney blamed his previous counsel saying the lawyer 'dropped the ball' by not explaining the order clearly to the sheriff, nor reaching out to the judge who ordered it for further explanation. 

Federal prosecutors countered that Arpaio defied the order purposely, believing he could get away with it.   

Arpaio appeared alongside Trump on the campaign trail last year, as they both moved to eradicate illegal immigration. 

They also both prescribed to the 'birther' conspiracy theory, which suggested President Obama was born outside the United States. 

Obama was born in Hawaii.  

Arpaio was on the job for more than two decades, in the top law enforcement job in the county that includes Phoenix, Arizona. 

He was known for constructing a tent city to house convicts, forcing them to wear pink underwear and bringing back chain gangs. 

'He has protected people from crimes and saved lives,' Trump told Fox News of the former lawman. 

While Trump was taking the White House, Arpaio lost his race last November to serve a seventh term.   

Speaking to Fox about a potential pardon, Arpaio said he would welcome it. 

'I am happy he understands the case,' the former sheriff said. 'I would accept the pardon because I am 100 percent not guilty.'