PHOENIX—When two men approached Fernando “Fernie” Madrid outside of a church, he thought he had two more signatures for his petition to run for school superintendent in Apache County, Arizona. But one of the men slapped the clipboard out of Fernie’s hand and the other delivered a threat: “Michael Whiting is just getting started with you.”
Who is Michael Whiting? The Apache County Attorney and husband of Fernie’s opposing candidate, Joy Whiting. The bullying was the start of a scheme of intimidation that was intended to force Fernie out of the race—and it eventually succeeded. Now, Fernie is teaming up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a federal lawsuit against Michael Whiting and his henchmen, Daryl Greer and Trent Jensen.
“The campaign of harassment against Fernie was a blatant violation of his First Amendment rights,” said IJ Attorney Mike Greenberg. “Running for office is a core protection of our Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech. Officials who go after political opponents for exercising their First Amendment rights must be held to account.”
Fernie Madrid spent much of his life educating the children of Apache County, which lies in the northeast corner of Arizona. In 2016, he ran for school superintendent and narrowly lost. In 2024, he decided it was time to run again. But this time, instead of seeing the race decided at the ballot box, Fernie would become the target of a coordinated campaign to bully him out of the race.
The then-Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting is married to Superintendent of Schools Joy Whiting. Greer and Jensen were assistants in the County Attorney’s Office.
Soon after the confrontation at the church, someone—almost certainly the henchmen—pelted Fernie’s house with rocks. Finally, Fernie received a mysterious packet of documents mailed to his home and turned over the packet to the state Attorney General’s Office without opening it. Fernie learned that the package contained an ultimatum to drop out of the race or face a financially ruinous and intrusive investigation. Thanks to their own bungling—the shipping was paid for with Whiting’s credit card—it was clear that Whiting and his henchmen were behind the package and threats.
Fearing that his campaign was putting his family in harm’s way, Fernie felt he had no choice but to withdraw. Shortly after, the Arizona Attorney General’s office searched Whiting’s home and seized control of his office. Today, Michael is facing criminal charges for the intimidation of Fernie, as well as other misuses of his offices. Greer has already pleaded guilty to a crime for his treatment of Fernie.
“The county attorney is supposed to prosecute criminals. But instead, he and his team turned to crime to intimidate me out of my campaign,” said Fernie. “Government officials can’t use their power to go after Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.”
The First Amendment prohibits government officials from weaponizing their office to silence and retaliate against their opponents. Fair and free elections are a cornerstone of democracy and simply impossible if candidates are afraid to run and to campaign. Fernie’s federal lawsuit seeks to hold Whiting, Greer, Jensen, and the county accountable for the harm they caused.
“The First Amendment protects the American tradition of running for office to serve your community. That’s exactly what Fernie was doing,” said IJ Attorney McCarley Maddock. “The Constitution clearly prohibits government officials like Michael Whiting from weaponizing their offices to punish political opponents, and when they do, they must be held accountable in court.”
The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public interest law firm that defends the First Amendment nationwide. IJ has taken on a number of cases in recent years where local elected officials use their office to silence their political opponents. IJ is defending a man who had his vehicle seized and damaged when he used it to campaign against a mayor in Ohio, a newspaper that was raided after criticizing a mayor in Kansas, and four people in Alabama arrested by a county attorney and sheriff over a political disagreement.