By Timothy Bella | The Washington Post
As the rest of Arizona followed a stay-at-home order imposed by the governor in May, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb proclaimed that the state’s attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus was unconstitutional.
“The numbers don’t justify the actions anymore,” the defiant Republican sheriff told The Arizona Republic at the time, vowing not to arrest people or shut down businesses that violated the order. “Three hundred deaths is not a significant enough number to continue to ruin the economy.”
On Wednesday, less than two months after publicly challenging the state’s efforts to slow the spread of a virus that has now spiked in Arizona, Lamb announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus before a scheduled meeting with President Trump.
In a Facebook post, Lamb wrote he was invited on Tuesday to the White House as part of Trump’s meeting with law enforcement officials and the signing of his executive action on policing. As part of a mandatory coronavirus screening for all White House visitors, he learned he had the virus.