Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio was in Los Angeles Thursday to show support for Omar Navarro, who is campaigning to unseat South Bay Rep. Maxine Waters in Congress.
Arpaio, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted of criminal contempt for ignoring a judge's order to stop detaining people who he suspects are undocumented immigrants, made an appearance at 8 p.m. at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deployed various personnel on site as a precaution. The public golf course has been a target of vandalism in the past from protesters who oppose Trump.
While in Los Angeles, the former sheriff spoke with NBC4's Mekahlo Medina to discuss his views on Trump, his pardon, and his surprising grudge against Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Arpaio, 85, considers President Trump his hero.
"It had nothing to do with the pardon," he said. "I just woke up and said, 'He, he is my hero.'"
A federal investigation and lawsuit began in 2007 after a group of Latinos accused the former sheriff of racial discrimination.
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Arpaio, who was dubbed "America's Toughest Sheriff," was known for his relentless treatment of inmates and immigration enforcement crackdowns, which lead to accusations that he violated a court order in the racial profiling case. He was accused of targeting immigrants and arresting people he suspected of being undocumented.
The president's decision to pardon Arpaio received heavy criticism — the former sheriff was a political ally in Trump's campaign for presidency. He says the controversial decision had nothing to do with their relationship, but came about after Trump reflected on what's right and wrong.
"On the pardon - it had nothing to do with friendship," Arpaio said. "He did the right thing. He knows I'm not guilty."
Due to the likeliness in ideals between he and the president, Arpaio said the two are very similar and he can "read" Trump's mind. He began to support Trump's campaign after he felt a deep connection with him following a phone call he would never forget.
Trump called Arpaio's wife some time in 2016 as she was battling cancer, according to the former sheriff. His wife's battle with the disease coincided with his political battle, which ended when he lost the 2016 re-election for sheriff.
As Arpaio was fighting to reclaim his title as sheriff of Maricopa County for a 6th term, photos of Garcetti wearing a t-shirt that said, "Arrest Arpaio," surfaced as he campaigned for the former sheriff's opponent.
"Your mayor was trying to get me defeated wearing that shirt," Arpaio said. "That's kind of sad. Really sad."
Since the devastating defeat and pardon, Arpaio said he is planning his political return with an ally familiar with Trump: former presidential adviser Steve Bannon.
According to Arpaio, he and Bannon met in a private meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Although he did not go into details on what the meeting held, Arpaio said he has not ruled out elected office despite his 2016 defeat.
Arpaio said he is actively working to "clear his name" and will continue to support Trump.
"It took me 75 years to find my hero and that's the way I feel," he said.
NBC4's Christine Kim contributed to this report.
