BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — An outspoken Ohio sheriff railed against government overreach in some U.S. cities because of their response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones targeted New York and California Thursday in a diatribe posted to social media.

“What is going on here, these cities are using law enforcement to enforce these mandates which I want no part of,” Jones said. “My deputies can be more effective elsewhere; this is not the definition of the land of the free. We the people are allowing the government too much control. We the people need to take our country back.”

Jones later went on social media and spoke for more than 4 minutes as well.

In New York, traveler checkpoints were set up randomly at bridges and tunnels into the city in an effort to register visitors from states with surging coronavirus infection rates and remind them to quarantine for at least two weeks.

In California, officials said they would consider shutting off water or electricity to houses and businesses where large gatherings continue to be held. The order targeted large house parties that have become de facto nightclubs.

Cox Media Group