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In May 2017, after the Department of Homeland Security reportedly tapped Wisconsin sheriff David Clarke for a job, stories appeared about the medals he typically wears to adorn his lapels, with many pointing out that Clarke has never served in the military. These articles mainly dealt with the sensitive topic of what military veterans know as stolen valor, which is the act of misleading the public by wearing unearned military medals or dressing in military uniform without having served. Clarke, who already cuts a controversial figure as the sheriff of Milwaukee County, received a round of scrutiny after he announced in mid-May 2017 that he would accept an assistant secretary position with the Department of Homeland Security (although DHS has not yet confirmed such a position has been offered). Among the topics of scrutiny were the many pins he wears on his dress uniform. For example, Salon.com posted a story on 19 May 2017 with the headline, Looks like Sheriff David Clarke’s 'army' medals might be B.S. They reported: We reached out to Clarke's spokesman, Craig Peterson, and the spokeswoman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. Neither responded to our questions regarding Clarke's uniform. But Clarke himself went on the record about the issue as a guest on Newsmax TV's The Joe Pags Show, where he said he doesn't wear medals and never falsely claimed to have served in the military. He said he wears pins that have personal and emotional value for him, and called the attacks on the items a smear: However, many people who served in the armed forces took issue with the implication of the pins, even without an overt declaration that he was a military hero. Will Fischer, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, compared Clarke's pins to the flair placed on waiters' uniforms at the restaurant Chotchkie's in the Mike Judge cult film Office Space. Fischer told us: But criticism of Clarke's uniform is purely subjective. John Lilyea, a retired Army sergeant who runs the blog This Ain't Hell which often deals with stolen valor cases, said he saw nothing wrong with Clarke's pins, and thought the kerfuffle was much ado about nothing. In an e-mail, he told us: Lilyea directed us to a blog post he had written on the topic (categorized under Dumbass Bullshit) in which he characterized the controversy as nothing more than partisanship: Anthony Anderson, a staff sergeant who runs the web site Guardian of Valor and has taken on the task of busting military impostors, agreed with Lilyea. He told us by e-mail: Opinions on whether or not Clarke's pins and uniform are inappropriate seem to be influenced by viewers' opinions on the man himself. Clarke is a lightning rod of a political figure. He began his law enforcement career with the Milwaukee Police Department in 1978, working his way up to the rank of captain, and only left the department in 2002 to take the position of Milwaukee County Sheriff. Clarke is a staunch and outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, and frequently stumped for him during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has controversially compared the Black Lives Matter movement to terrorists, and is also the target of several lawsuits dealing with prisoner fatalities in his jail system as well as and harassment of a private citizen. The Anti-Defamation League also cautions that Clarke has ties to two groups it classifies as extremist anti-government organizations: the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), and the Oath Keepers. Actual stolen valor is a serious offense — it's a federal crime to fraudulently present oneself as the recipient of authentic military medals like a silver star, a Purple Heart or a Combat Infantryman's Badge with the intent of benefiting from doing so. Although Clarke has a penchant for meticulously arranging his personal pins on his dress uniform, he never claimed to have served in the military and says the items are personal belongings, not military-issued medals or badges. It may be a gray area for some, but the level of offense taken is in the eye of the beholder. Clarke does not misrepresent his past nor does he masquerade as a veteran of the armed forces.
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