Mayoral candidate Josiah Roise hosted a rally in Minot this Wednesday night at Oak Park that doubled as both a campaign event and ideological revival, featuring former Arizona sheriff and Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) founder Richard Mack. The event included live music (Joisiah plays bass), a prayer service, a Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem (that almost didn't have the right American Flag presented), and anti-establishment speeches, that drew a devoted crowd.
Mack, who gained national attention for successfully challenging the Brady Bill in the 1990s, delivered an impassioned speech that wove together law enforcement stories, anti-federal rhetoric, and deeply personal anecdotes. He notably described his 50-year marriage, beginning when he was 21 and his wife was just 16, an age gap and circumstance that would raise eyebrows today. Mack also recounted his 1994 lawsuit against the federal government as a spiritual mission, and Roise followed suit with his proposal to abolish the Minot Police Department entirely and consolidate power under the elected sheriff.
Roise, who has built his campaign around the idea of becoming a “constitutional mayor,” praised Mack as the inspiration behind his platform and used the event to outline his vision for law enforcement reform in Minot. The event was filled with strong anti-establishment messaging, including what both men described as a national fight for liberty and constitutional revival.
Josiah Roise used his time at the microphone to reiterate his bold and central pitch: dissolve Minot’s police department and replace it with a single law enforcement authority, the Ward County Sheriff. Calling the sheriff the “highest power in the land,” Roise proposed merging all city policing duties into the sheriff’s office to eliminate what he called the “bureaucracy” and “corruption” of local police, who he is actively suing. He argued that, because the sheriff is elected, the people would have more direct control over local enforcement. “When things are going good in Minot, we know who to reelect. When they’re not, we know who to recall,” he said.
Then, Roise went on to propose a new idea he's not mentioned prior: the need not just for a “constitutional sheriff”, but one who could form a posse in defense of citizens against what he called unconstitutional overreach by federal or state agencies. Referencing a case in Bismarck where a newborn was apparently removed from a mother by CPS after a dispute with doctors, and Roise argued that only a sheriff with posse authority could prevent such government action.
Roise said, "You know, when people say, 'I'm not going to let this happen', and they might say back to you, like, okay, you and what army? Well, they have an army. They can touch their radio and they got a whole bunch of more guys with guns that come and back them up. Where's your army? Who's your army? That's why we need a constitutional sheriff who can form a posse. It's not just an old Western tale, the laws still apply the same today. And if we had a constitutional sheriff, a guy like Richard Mack here, that's somebody you could call to say, 'CPS wants to take my baby', and there's not a chance that he's gonna let that happen. Over his dead body. And he's got other people to call, he's got a posse to form. That's the law enforcement that I want in Minot."
Roise’s new call for citizen posses drew clear inspiration from Richard Mack’s worldview and reinforced his belief that local government must be radically reimagined. While such rhetoric may resonate with his anti-establishment base, the idea of armed or deputized civilians forming enforcement groups under a sheriff’s authority could open its own Pandora’s box of legal, ethical, and practical concerns.
Check out Thursday's podcast at 9 AM for more from the event.
