Former Trump Doctor Ronny Jackson Threatened Officer Before Arrest: Sheriff

Representative Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican who previously worked as former President Donald Trump's White House doctor, allegedly threatened to beat a law enforcement officer and to bury a local sheriff in the next election prior to being arrested last month, according to a sheriff's report.

The congressman was briefly detained by law enforcement on July 29 as he was attending the White Deer Rodeo, an event that takes place on the last weekend of every July in White Deer, Texas, around 40 miles away from Amarillo. The Trump ally, who also formerly served as the White House physician for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, previously said the incident occurred as he was "summoned by someone in the crowd to assist a 15-year-old girl who was having a medical emergency nearby." Jackson, who was first elected to Congress in 2020, was reported to be seen drinking ahead of the incident, but his office has disputed that allegation.

The arrest report from Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry was first released on Friday to The Texas Tribune in response to a freedom of information request. "I'm going to beat that motherf*****s' ass!" the report said Jackson said about a law enforcement officer ahead of his arrest, according to the news outlet.

Jackson reportedly yelled profanities and was extremely agitated, according to the arrest report, with officers responding by handcuffing him and bringing him to the ground. The report also alleged that the Texas Republican threatened to bury the sheriff in the next election.

"I physically had to hold Congressman Jackson back from going towards Trooper Young," Chief Deputy Sheriff JC Blackburn said in the report, The Dallas Morning News reported.

After the congressman was detained he reportedly "continued to yell and scream from inside the vehicle about who he was. Congressman Jackson also stated that he was going to call Governor [Greg] Abbott."

A spokesperson for Jackson disputed the report.

"Congressman Jackson was not drinking and was prevented from giving medical care in a potentially life-threatening situation due to overly aggressive and incompetent actions by the local authorities present at the time of the incident," Jackson's communications director Kate Lair said in a statement emailed to Newsweek on Saturday morning.

"Again, he was asked to help the teenager when no other uniformed medics were present. Congressman Jackson, as a trained ER physician, will not apologize for sparing no effort to help in a medical emergency, especially when the circumstances were chaotic and the local authorities refused to help the situation," she said.

Lair also said that the congressman is glad that the teenager he was attempting to help "has recovered from the incident and is doing well."

Jackson previously came under scrutiny in 2021 when a report from the Department of Defense's (DOD) inspector general accused him of drinking alcohol while in his role at the White House, as well as taking Ambien sleeping pills and making inappropriate comments about a colleague's breasts and buttocks while on a presidential trip to Manila, Philippines, in 2014. Jackson has strongly denied all the allegations of misconduct.

According to NPR, the word alcohol appeared 56 times in the 37-page report by the DOD. However, Jackson said the report was part of a campaign to smear his reputation and was orchestrated by Democrats.

"Democrats are using this report to repeat and rehash untrue attacks on my integrity," he said in 2021. "My entire professional life has been defined by duty and service. I've honorably served my country in the U.S. Navy, served patients who trusted me with their care, served three Presidents in the White House, and now I serve the people of Texas' 13th District in Congress. I have not, and will not ever, conduct myself in a way that undermines the sincerity with which I take my oath to my country or my constituents."

Jackson retired from the Navy with the rank of rear admiral in 2019 after more than two decades in the service.

Republicans have repeatedly accused Democrats of being anti-police, particularly in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Activists and some progressive Democrats voiced support for defunding the police during that period of massive nationwide demonstrations against systemic racism in law enforcement and the justice system.

"Our cities are EXPLODING with drugs & violence because of Democrat 'defund the police' policies and the GREAT UNITER Joe Biden deflects to talk about 'sucking blood out of kids.' He's completely LOST it! Needs a cognitive exam NOW!" Jackson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in July 2021.

A Biden administration budget proposal released in March aims to invest in local law enforcement, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The president has also publicly called for increasing funding to police.

"The Budget provides DOJ $4.9 billion in discretionary resources for State and local grants to enhance public safety, including $537 million for the COPS Hiring Program, and $30 billion in mandatory resources to fully fund President Biden's Safer America Plan, a comprehensive blueprint to protect the safety of our communities through evidence-based strategies that promote effective and accountable crime prevention," the White House fact sheet said.

Update, 8/12/2023 at 11:03 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Jackson's spokesperson.