Fernando “Fernie” Madrid, an education veteran in Apache County, Arizona, says he was driven out of the 2024 school superintendent race after sustained intimidation tied to the county attorney’s office, and he has filed a civil suit alleging his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated.
Fernando Madrid spent decades in education in Apache County before deciding to run for school superintendent in 2024. He previously ran as a Democrat in 2016, but this campaign was organized differently, with a website, volunteers, and a social media plan aimed at drawing attention to neglected schools north of I‑40.
Madrid framed his entry as about schools and families: “The whole educational thing with me is very important and just a part of who I am, my family is, and just thought it was the right time to give it another try.” He says his focus was on making sure districts north of Interstate 40 received fair attention and resources.
Soon after filing, Madrid began to notice surveillance and harassment: unfamiliar cars near his home, people confronting relatives, anonymous packages, and being followed to job sites in Phoenix and as far away as Napa, California. He described it as “a looking over my shoulder feeling all the time.”
Events escalated into direct confrontations while he tried to collect signatures. Two men approached him in front of a church and told him, “We know who you are.” One shoved him and knocked his clipboard away, and allegedly warned, “Michael Whiting is just getting started with you,” as rocks were later thrown at his family home and threatening paperwork arrived on his doorstep.
Investigations revealed the men who followed and harassed Madrid were tied to the county attorney’s office: Daryl Greer, an investigator, and Trent Jensen, a staffer. Madrid says the pressure and the threat to his elderly father and family made him sick and forced a painful decision: he withdrew from the race on March 28, 2024, to stop the harassment.
He then filed a lawsuit with the Institute for Justice against former county attorney Michael Whiting, Greer, Jensen, Apache County, and the Apache County Attorney’s Office. The complaint claims government power was turned into a political weapon to squash a challenger and that officials used intimidation to bend the electoral process.
IJ attorney Michael Greenberg framed the legal issue plainly: “The right to declare yourself a candidate for office and actually pursue office is black letter law that is protected by the free speech clause of the First Amendment.” Greenberg and Madrid argue the conduct here crosses a constitutional line by using official resources and personnel to interfere with political speech and candidacy.
Greenberg adds that “This coordinated weeks‑long campaign was designed to get him to stop doing that, and it defeated him.” For Madrid, the immediate loss of his run matters, but the larger concern is that a county office could be used to intimidate private citizens and tilt local politics through fear.
Madrid’s account includes the personal fallout: “I actually got very sick over this,” he said, describing how family members were caught up in the surveillance and unannounced visits. He told himself he would withdraw if needed to protect his dad and family, and that is what he did.
Those filing the suit say the objective is to hold officials accountable and make clear that local power cannot be deployed to silence opposition. As one advocate put it, “What happened to Fernie shouldn’t happen to anybody else,” and the case aims to show that “the First Amendment doesn’t allow” intimidation by government actors to eliminate political rivals.
