Sheriff Songer looks to Gov. Candidate Loren Culp to fill Klickitat Jail Job
Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer.
By Tom Peterson and Cole Goodwin
Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer has big hopes for his final term as sheriff.
The 77-year-old, third-term sheriff’s goals for the next four years include:
establishing an animal shelter,
proclaiming Klickitat County a constitutional county,
increasing his posse to 200, and
Hiring Washington gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp to run the Klickitat County Jail.
Loren Culp.
Songer said he was excited about Culp possibly going to work for his office on Feb. 15th, during an interview with CCCNews.
“I know Loren personally, I know him to be a credible individual regardless of what the far left tries to paint him. Anyways he’s a constitutional guy, he believes in God and he’s got a lot of good common sense. And a lot of good law enforcement behind him,” said Songer.
Culp was endorsed by Donald Trump during his bid for the US House.
Songer estimated it would take a month to go through the hiring process, including background checks and references to get to a final decision.
He also addressed rumors that he was interested in paving the way for Culp to be the next Klickitat County Sheriff.
“The people that are spreading that nonsense are ignorant to the fact of how that works,” said Songer. “First of all, if I step down during my term, I have no input on who is appointed sheriff. The Republican Party submits three names to the Board of County Commissioners, and they pick who the next sheriff will be.”
“My intention is to finish out. There’s no scheme here with Loren, or anything else” said Songer. “It’s merely that I thought he would be a good fit for our position as a manager in the jail and offered him the job; he’s interested, and he’s going through the process.”
CCCNews reached out to Culp through his Facebook page for comment but received no response.
Klickitat County Commissioner Jacob Anderson was unaware of Culp’s interview and possible hire.
“The sheriff is his own elected official, and we as commissioners have no say in how the sheriff chooses his staff,” he said.
Sheriff Bob Songer's decision to offer Culp a job as jail administrator has been met with some controversy due to Culp's history of refusing to enforce gun safety measures, and making racist and insensitive remarks during his political campaigns.
Similar to Songer, Culp also refused to enforce the Washington voter-approved gun safety measure Initiative 1639 while he was a Police Chief for the City of Republic, Washington. The initiative made it illegal for a person under 21 years of age to purchase a semiautomatic assault rifle. The initiative also made it illegal to sell or transfer a semiautomatic rifle to a person under 21 years of age, among other regulations.
Culp has been criticized for his use of an analogy comparing his stand against enforcing Initiative 1639, to Rosa Parks’ historic civil rights protest. And for comparing law enforcement officers who enforce the gun safety measure to Nazis who “arrested Jews and put them in concentration camps because it was the law.” Both the Anntidefamation League of the Pacific Northwest (ADL) and the Jewish Federation of Seattle have called Culp out for his analogy which shows insensitivity to the experiences of those who suffered during the Holocaust and the Civil Rights movement.
Songer responded to concerns over the analogy.
“Well I can tell you I got a poster in my office. You ever get a chance to stop over and visit. It's got four individuals and it says experts agree gun control works.” said Songer.
The poster features the likeness of Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, Muamaar Gaddafi and Joseph Stalin.
A poster CCCNews found online that says “Experts agree gun control works” amd features the photos of Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, Muamaar Gaddafi, Joseph Stalin. Idi Amin Dada Ourmee, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, and Kim Jong-il.
In 2020, Culp ran for Washington Governor against Democrat Jay Inslee, receiving 43.1% or 1.74 million votes. He also ran for the U.S. House Dist. 4 in Washington in 2022, coming in third in the primary. He poled well in Klickitat County, a detail that was not lost on Songer.
In that election, Culp filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Kim Wyman following the loss, alleging widespread election irregularities and fraud. Culp was subsequently threatened with legal sanctions “for making meritless claims in a court of law,” at which point Culp withdrew the lawsuit.
Culp has been accused of making multiple racial slurs during his political campaigns and has been criticized for using language that promotes violence against minority communities. For instance, in 2022, after Alexander Jay, a black man, who was videoed throwing a woman down the stairs at a subway station in Seattle, Culp, took to his twitter saying, "get a rope.”
“Get a rope,” he tweeted “not only for the low life scumbag who did this but for the worthless judges and prosecutors who continually let this happen by turning violent criminals back out only to make new victims. No rope, firing squad and I’ll volunteer for it.”
When commissioner Anderson heard about this tweet he went silent.
“Oh my goodness,” he said. “Wow.”
The tweet harkens back to the days of lynching.
“Lynching is a public act of violence that involves vigilantes (who are seldom charged with a crime), the pursuit of a victim, a rationalization for violent behavior, and objects of restraint and torture. A noose, or lynch rope, is an object that symbolizes white supremacy as a system of terror inflicted on African Americans from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G Bunch III. “The noose has long represented a deplorable act of cowardice and depravity– a symbol of extreme violence for African Americans.”
Songer dismissed concerns about the comment as being twisted by the Seattle TImes, although the quote came directly from Culp’s Twitter feed.
“That was twisted, of course, the Seattle Times has a habit of doing those kinds of things,” said Songer. “To be honest with you, I don’t have any heartburn over that crap when you got a man committing assaults on an elderly woman like that, it’s ridiculous. And I can see at that moment, someone making a comment like that. But that doesn’t take away– He’s not a white supremacist. None of that. Far left accusing you, accusing me, the mere fact that we’re white were white supremacists. So you got that going on.”
While Songer feels Culp’s language to be understandable considering that Jay had 22 prior offenses before being accused of attacking two women and bludgeoning a man to death in a span of 13 hours in March of 2022. Jay was deemed incompetent to stand trial and is waiting in jail for inpatient treatment. As of January 2023 the state still hadn’t been able to get Jay a bed in a state hospital.
While Jay’s alleged offenses have been described as “terrible” many say that doesn’t excuse Culp’s use of racially charged language.
Responses to Culp’s Tweet.
The ADL has also called Culp out for anti-Semitic and anti-Chinese statements he made in his run for governor in 2020. In particular, the organization took issue with Culp referring to COVID-19 as "the Chinese virus" in a time of rising anti-Asian American violence, calling his statements “unacceptable”.
“As the Jewish and AAPI communities know all too well, words matter. Racist, xenophobic, and hateful language can and has led to violence against both of our communities throughout our histories and today – as demonstrated by rising antisemitism and anti-Asian American violence. We speak together to ensure that this rhetoric never becomes normalized. The stakes are simply too high. We urge Mr. Culp to apologize for his bigoted language,” the ADL announced in February 2022.
Despite criticism from the ADL, Songer chalked up controversy around Culp’s comments to political targeting by the liberal left.
“...Seattle Times views us as a radical right division, which is a bunch of nonsense,” said Songer. “It's the far left writing this crap, and they'll target you, and they'll try to ruin your day, your career. They'll try to paint you. Anyway, the bottom line is, you know, they're bullies. You got to stand up to them.”
Songer has been criticized in the past for his support of Patriot Prayer, a right-wing, pro-Trump, anti-government, extremist group that has been involved in several violent altercations during political protests in Portland, OR. Patriot Prayer is also known for its ties to the Proud Boys. Proud Boys are considered a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and white nationalist group, known for their anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Culp has also received criticism for personal use of campaign contributions, but Songer has said that doesn’t cause him any concern.
“It’s very easy to get screwed up on some of that stuff,” said Songer. “So, obviously they didn’t consider it an extreme violation or they’d have went after him big time.”
Songer also dismissed criticisms of Culp, in regards to a lawsuit against the former police chief and other police for unwillingness to prosecute a child sex abuse investigation in which a 17-year-old girl reported she’d been sexually molested by her stepfather, Roy A. Moore since she was 5. She eventually won her case against her stepfather and the lawsuit against Ferry County and the City of Republic. Moore was sentenced to 67 months in prison and was released in late 2019.
The victim also brought a lawsuit against Ferry County and the City of Republic for botching the investigation, which resulted in a $275,000 payout to the victim.
Culp accused the Seattle Times of overpublicizing the case, saying that he had conducted multiple child abuse investigations in his career and “ALL of them were handled professionally from start to finish.”
“That was all a bunch of BS,” said Songer. “What happened: He was invited to sit in on an interview as a witness for another agency, and anyway the other agency decided not to file or anything. So, she went to someone else and they filed on it and, of course, then she ends up suing.”
Songer said that opposition politics were at play in the case.
Constitutional County
Songer hopes to get Klickitat County Commissioners to proclaim Klickitat County a constitutional county.
Klickitat County has not adopted the Constitutional County Resoluition in years past, said Commissioner Anderson.
“We’ve always been a constitutional county,” he said. “We follow the Constitution…”
“They would further- basically, and I don't have all the language here in front of me- but further support people's right to bear arms, second amendment as well as the first amendment and so forth,” said Songer.
Songer is an outspoken member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) and an active participant in the "Constitutional Sheriff's Movement," also known as the "county supremacy" movement. These organizations believe that the county sheriff holds the highest “legitimate” authority in the nation, which supersedes even the President of the United States.
The movement can be traced back to the far-right Posse Comitatus. The group’s first charter was formed in Portland, Oregon in 1969 by Heny Lamont Beach, a retired dry cleaner and former member of a Nazi organization known as the Silver Shirts.
Posse Comitatus was known for its racist and anti-Semitic views, as well as its belief that the county sheriff holds the highest "legitimate" authority in the nation. Additionally, the movement promoted conspiracy theories and was associated with paramilitary figures. The group also had close ties with the Christian Identity movement, an interpretation of Christianity that believes Aryan people are the true Israelites, the people who were chosen by God, and that all non-white people should be exterminated or enslaved to serve white people.
Songer plans to copy a “Constitutional County” resolution adopted by Sherman County and present it to Klickitat County Commissioners.
“Sherman County Oregon is a constitutional county. So, I've talked to Brad Lohrey, the sheriff over there and he sent me a copy of their resolution, and I was going to plagiarize some of that and put it together for Klickitat County, and present it to the Board of County Commissioners.”
Growing the Posse
Another one of Sheriff Songer's objectives during his last term is to expand his posse's membership from 155 to 200 individuals and to establish a "Posse Cadet Program” for youth ages 10-18.
“So they can go through law enforcement type training, constitutional training, firearms, safety training, because these young people they, I think, would be a real plus for them in their community. It’ll give them a kind of profession to look at, you know, maybe, who knows, down the road, they may become law enforcement officers,” said Songer.
Songer says his posse is currently the biggest in the state.
“We’re the biggest in the state right now at 155 members, I think it is,” said Songer, “And all that really boils down to Tom is a community policing program. It’s outstanding citizens of our community and also a couple from Benton County and one out of Skamania County that volunteer their time working with us on numerous projects and partnering up with the sheriff’s office to make a safer community.”
A long tradition of Sheriffs utilizing a posse to help conduct the work of the Klickitat County Sheriff's office dates back more than 100 years. The abvove photo is , c. 1941
Songer said the posse helps with traffic control, rodeo security, and courtroom security.
“I give them limited authority on their special deposition in that case so if the bad guy breaks and runs from the courtroom they’re able to detain them and hold them for a deputy or city police officer to show up,” said Songer.
However, a group called Klickitat Voters for Responsible Government (KVRG) has taken issue with Songer’s desire to increase the Posse and has accused the Sheriff of creating an anti-government militia that is funded by county taxpayers.
“According to Songer, he thinks gun ownership is necessary not only for hunting and personal defense but also "so you could stand and fight the government when they become terrorists themselves." If the state or federal government does something that he considers unconstitutional, he intends to assemble his "posse," swear in several hundred additional members, and stage an armed standoff in Klickitat County. This behavior qualifies as that of an anti-government militia,” reads ReplaceSonger.com, the website run by KVRG.
Establishing an Animal Shelter
Perhaps the least controversial of Songer’s goals for his final term is to establish an animal shelter in Klickitat County, which currently has no animal shelter.
“Gina Mosbrucker our state legislature has been very helpful in trying to get funding for that,” said Songer. “So, that’s a big project, probably will not become reality for another year or so, but there’s a lot of groundwork that has to be done.”
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