When Donald Trump pardoned former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins last week, the president called him a "victim" who had been "persecuted by the Radical Left 'monsters' and 'left for dead.'"
Jenkins is an outspoken supporter of Trump. The reprieve spared Jenkins from what Trump called an "unfair sentence" — 10 years for bribery, conspiracy, and honest services fraud — just before the former sheriff was to start serving it.
More than 60% of voters in Culpeper backed Trump in last year's election. But many there, including Trump supporters, say pardoning the former sheriff was wrong.
"That's a terrific mistake," said Ken Green, a retired entrepreneur and three-time Trump voter, as he ate breakfast at the counter at Frost Cafe in downtown Culpeper. "It's a failure of our justice system. He was guilty as could be. He needed to go to jail, and he didn't. So what kind of signal does that send?"