Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s Bureau of Elections is investigating two complaints that allege a sheriff who hosted a press conference with former President Donald Trump violated the law.

Two days later, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson appeared in uniform at the Democratic National Convention to promote Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

Democratic activist attorney Mark Brewer, with the Goodman Acker law firm, told Michigan Advance he believes the Tuesday press conference on crime hosted by Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. Brewer is the former head of the Michigan Democratic Party.

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Murphy said in a video ahead of the Tuesday press conference in Howell that the event was not intended to be political, but a platform for a presidential candidate to speak about issues impacting law enforcement.

The “crime and safety” event featured several patrol vehicles and some signs that read “Make America Safe Again” and “Michigan is Trump Country,” as well as police officers from across the state, union officials, and politicians including former Congressman Mike Rogers, R-White Lake.

“I’ve never seen anything just so blatant and repeated,” Brewer cried. “MCL 169.257 expressly prohibits the use of any public resources for political campaign purposes and it gives a long list; vehicles, buildings, any public resources.

“I mean, they held it in a public building, which was obviously cleaned up for Trump, and then they staged the vehicles behind him. And then you have uniformed officers there, as well. Those are all public resources,” he said. “And he can call it a press conference, but he was clearly advocating for this election as president. That was a campaign event, and what the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department did was illegal.”

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Angela Benander, spokeswoman for the Department of State, confirmed to Bridge Michigan the Bureau of Elections is investigating two complaints about the event, but declined to provide any details.

The Michigan Campaign Finance Act states a “public body or person acting for a public body shall not use or authorize the use of funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies, other public resources” to support a political campaign.

“I don’t believe I violated the campaign finance act,” Murphy wrote to Bridge in an email. “I welcome the investigation.”

While there’s some ambiguity about whether the event was professional or political, Swanson’s appearance at the DNC in Chicago was clearly the latter.

“We need a leader who will embody what is affixed to all three sides of my sheriff patrol cars: protect, serve, and unify,” Swanson said, appearing in full uniform. “Kamala Harris is that leader.”

“As president, Kamala Harris will unify our country, she will bring us together, because our country needs a leader who will go toe to toe with drug cartels and bullies,” he said. “Let’s elect Kamala Harris and turn hate into hope yet again.”

It was at least the third  time in the last month that Swanson has appeared in full uniform or emerging from a police vehicle wearing a badge to campaign for Democrats.

In a commercial for President Joe Biden’s campaign last month, Swanson appeared to speak from his sheriff’s office to cast the Trump campaign as anti-police, and support Biden as a unifier.

“I have no desire to work with somebody who divides, that’s not what America is,” he said. “But I’ll work with anybody who unites, that’s why I’m with President Joe Biden.”

In another video posted to Swanson’s Facebook page on July 10 features the sheriff in a suit with his name and department insignia prominently displayed as he endorsed Domonique Clemons for Genesee County clerk.

He also appears with a police vehicle wearing a badge in a political advertisement for Kristen McDonald Rivet’s U.S. congressional campaign.

In 2018, Murphy was fined $200 – $100 to the state and $100 to the county – for appearing in a gubernatorial campaign video for Republican Bill Schuette, according to a conciliation agreement with Sally Williams, who was then Benson’s director of the Bureau of Elections.

Knowingly violating the Michigan Campaign Finance Act is misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fine of $1,000, though the fine can increase to as much as $20,000 or the amount of the improper contribution or expenditure if the violator is not an individual, according to Michigan Advance.