Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio issued a press release this afternoon stating that his office will not give "Occupy Phoenix" protesters additional publicity.
That's right -- a press release to announce he doesn't want to help publicize the "Occupy Phoenix" demonstration.
We'll pause for laughter.
Thinking this could have possibly been a mistake -- and not just the sheriff's most recent act of perverse media slutiness -- we sent MCSO spokesman Justin Griffin an e-mail asking the following: "You realize you issued a press release about not wanting to give Occupy Phoenix protesters any publicity, right?"
We haven't heard back.
In addition to sending a press release to every news outlet in Arizona -- again, in an unusual attempt to not give the "occupiers" any additional publicity -- Arpaio will not post the mugshots of anyone arrested at the "Occupy Phoenix" demonstration on the MCSO's website, as he does with literally every other person who finds their way to his jails.
According to Arpaio, the "occupiers" plan to show an "unauthorized" documentary about the sheriff tomorrow afternoon at Cesar Chavez Plaza in Phoenix -- which, again, we probably never would have heard about if not for the sheriff's press release about not wanting to give the "occupiers" additional publicity.
"It seems that this Occupy Phoenix group is changing gears by going after this sheriff," Arpaio says, referring to himself in the third person.
Arpaio goes on to say anyone who breaks the law during the protests will be arrested and taken to jail. Mind you, their mugshots will not be posted on the sheriff's website!
"I will not provide extra publicity for these protesters who try to get arrested by posting their mug shots on my website at this time," Arpaio, um, explains.
