The corps created by Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, is “an authoritarian power grab in the heart of suburban America,” said a lawyer representing county lawmakers.

Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents

Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents, saying it amounts to an “illegal, taxpayer-funded civilian militia.” Nassau County Democratic lawmakers argue in their complaint filed Wednesday that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lacked the legal authority to form a cadre of special sheriff’s deputies with “authority to use deadly force and make arrests under color of law.