Arpaio skewered in "Machete"?

Political Insider
Arpaio skewered in "Machete"?

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Robert Rodriguez's movie "Machete" (opening Sept. 3) first popped up on the 1070 radar when he released a trailer in

May that included mention of Arizona.
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An article in "The Hollywood Reporter" notes that the film also contains a caricature of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and a

politician whose stance on immigration could easily be mistaken for that of Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce.

According to the story: "Among 'Machete's' more provocative elements are border vigilantes led by Don Johnson as a

kind of avatar for Maricopa County's Sheriff Joe Arpaio and fake political ads for an incumbent senator whose platform

is built on his 'hard line against (inappropriate term)' and a description of them as 'parasites.' That the two characters

murder a pregnant Mexican woman to prevent her baby from being born in America and then shoot her distraught

husband while uttering the line, 'Welcome to America,' underlines the point."
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<From a statement issued by Arpaio:>
"I am quite sure that 'Machete' producers did not have me in mind when they developed this character. But news

reporters who disagree with my tactics on illegal immigration, willingly and irresponsibly publicly link me to a

murderous, racist lawman characterized in this film as a means to further their own political viewpoints," the

statement read.

-JJ Hensley

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