Ex-Sheriff who deputized Eric Trump and posted viral arrest videos lands Homeland Security job

Former St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson, who in October deputized Donald Trump’s second-eldest son, is bound for Washington to take a job in the President’s administration.

Pearson will serve as Senior Counselor to State and Local Law Enforcement, a post he’ll hold at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

He announced the move Thursday.

“Together, we will make a significant impact in the safety and prosperity for all Americans,” Pearson wrote on Facebook. “President Trump’s America First Priorities will be the pathway for our success and I look forward to serving under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership.”

Noem, South Dakota’s Governor and Trump’s pick to lead DHS, pends Senate confirmation.

Pearson was a Sheriff’s lieutenant on Dec. 1, 2023, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to replace longtime St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara, who retired suddenly. Pearson boasts more than two decades of law enforcement experience. Recognition he earned during his career included a Distinguished Service Medal from the U.S. Department of Justice and “Law Enforcement of the Year” honors from the U.S. Southern District.

He holds an associate degree in criminal justice from Indian River State College. The appointment attracted scrutiny and calls for Pearson’s removal by fellow Republicans, who noted that he was chosen for the job over several higher ranking officers.

Pearson held the Sheriff’s post for about 11 months. During that time, he was the subject of a since-dropped ethics investigation into whether he helped to prop up a so-called “ghost candidate” to run against Mascara in 2020. Mascara was ultimately sanctioned by the Florida Commission on Ethics.

In October, Pearson — an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump — swore in the President’s son Eric as a Special Deputy of the St. Lucie Sheriff’s Office, a title that carries “full powers of arrest,” according to Florida Statutes. The President’s son has no law enforcement experience, nor is he a St. Lucie resident. Neither are state requirements for Deputy Sheriffs.

Videos and photos of arrest suspects, some of which went viral, that Pearson posted to social media drew criticism from Judge Michael Heisey of the 19th Judicial Circuit, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl and others.

“An arrest is not an appropriate time for an unauthorized selfie with an arrestee,” Lapointe wrote in a May 2024 letter, describing one photo Pearson posted as “disturbing” and coming “across as if the Sheriff is posing with an antelope that he just shot on safari.”

Others, like Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg, celebrated Pearson’s online activity as “Phenomenal.”

Pearson fired back at Lapointe in a December video posted to his Facebook page.

“Lapointe openly criticized my social media posts, at some point saying it hurts the criminals’ feelings. I don’t care about their feelings. … What I do care about is when a citizen gets victimized and we get zero cooperation from the federal government to help give that victim justice,” he said. “This is a Biden appointee, and this is exactly what America doesn’t want. That’s why they’re gone. Come Jan. 20, we’re going to take the handcuffs off of law enforcement.”

By then, Pearson’s hopes to stay on as Sheriff were dashed. He badly lost the August Republican Primary by 29 percentage points to candidate Richard Del Toro, who went on to win the job in November, becoming the first Republican elected Sheriff of St. Lucie since 1966.