Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones and Cam Hunt, a candidate running to replace him engaged in a social media smackdown after a deputy was injured during a shooting Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
Immediately after it was revealed the dead suspect in the deputy involved shooting was a Guatemalan national, Cam Hunt used the incident as a campaign talking point on his political Facebook page blasting Sheriff Jones over immigration policy.
Hunt wrote in part “What makes this even more concerning is that the night before this happened, at the candidate forum, I spoke about the fact that 36 Sheriff’s Offices in Alabama are actively participating in the ICE 287(g) program. Lee County is not one of them. Let me be clear. That is a failure of leadership.”
“The 287(g) program allows local agencies to work directly with federal authorities to identify and remove individuals who are here illegally and committing serious crimes. It is a proactive tool designed to prevent exactly this type of situation. Had that program been in place here, there is a very real possibility this violent offender would have already been off the streets.”
“We need leadership that gets ahead of threats, not leadership that reacts after tragedy strikes,” Hunt wrote taking direct aim at Sheriff Jones.
The typically mild-mannered Lee County Sheriff wasn’t having it and responded on his own social media account. “Cam Hunt’s reckless accusations are not only wrong, they demonstrate his lack of experience and knowledge of operations within the Sheriff’s Office. He clearly doesn’t understand basic law enforcement operations and is using the tragedy of an officer-involved shooting to intentionally mislead voters with a cheap political stunt.”
“The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has a strong, unbroken record of active cooperation with ICE and many other federal authorities. The Sheriff’s Office notifies federal partners of undocumented individuals in custody almost daily, diligently honors lawful detainers, willingly facilitates transfers to ICE custody, and strongly supports removal proceedings as often as the law allows — resulting in the deportation of hundreds of illegal immigrants over the course of my tenure.”
“Hunt’s shameful and demonstrably false social media post suggests that our office and deputies are somehow “not doing enough” due to Lee County not participating in the optional 287(g) program. Hunt either intentionally or based on his severe lack of law enforcement experience, inadvertently fails to mention the administrative, and liability costs that the program incurs.”
“The absence of 287(g) paperwork has never and will never stop our department from deporting illegal immigrants through direct, effective partnerships with ICE. Frankly, I find it offensive and disappointing that Cam Hunt has chosen to use this tragic incident to try and score political points. His comments are not only false, they should concern every citizen of Lee County, as he has perfectly demonstrated his inability to separate politics and public safety. This is the kind of inexperience and political theater we cannot afford in the sheriff’s office,” Sheriff Jones wrote in part.
The back and forth continued with a video recently posted by Cam Hunt. During the video Hunt says “Sheriff Jones made the claim that I’m using the tragedy regarding Deputy Sheets for political gain. That’s not only unprofessional quite frankly that’s despicable. Deputy Sheets is a friend of mine and Sheriff Jones failed to acknowledge the fact that Gomez, the illegal alien that shot him already had a criminal history here in Lee County. So had we been actively participating in the 287(g) program there is a very high likelihood that this never would have happened.”
Sheriff Jay Jones and Cam Hunt square off on the ballot in the Lee County Republican primary May 19, 2026.
