Long Island lawmakers have sued Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and a local sheriff for a program sanctioning a taxpayer-funded militia of armed civilians shrouded “in secrecy.” The suit challenges the legality of the “special deputy sheriffs” program announced in March 2024 to public outcry by Blakeman,

The corps created by Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, is “an authoritarian power grab in the heart of suburban America,” said a lawyer representing county lawmakers.

Democrats are looking to un-arm Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman's so-called "citizen deputies." They are challenging the creation of what they call an unnecessary and illegal taxpayer-funded civilian militia.

Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents

Democratic legislators are suing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman claiming that the Long Island Republican illegally created a tax-payer-funded militia — allegations his office quickly slammed as bogus.

Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents, saying it amounts to an “illegal, taxpayer-funded civilian militia.” Nassau County Democratic lawmakers argue in their complaint filed Wednesday that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lacked the legal authority to form a cadre of special sheriff’s deputies with “authority to use deadly force and make arrests under color of law.