Former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson of Arkansas has died at age 82. A county coroner said Robinson died Wednesday night at a hospital after a brief illness. Robison served three terms in the U.S. House representing Arkansas' 2nd District.
FILE - Former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson speaks at a meeting, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006, in Little Rock, Ark. Robinson died Wednesday, July 10, 2024, after a brief illness. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson, who gained notoriety as an Arkansas sheriff for tactics that included chaining inmates outside a state prison to protest overcrowding, has died. He was 82.
Robinson was first elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House in 1984, representing the 2nd District, covering Little Rock and central Arkansas. He switched parties and became a Republican in 1989 before losing the GOP primary for governor the following year. Robinson also clashed with prosecutors and judges during his time as sheriff. He was jailed by a federal judge for contempt for two days after kicking out a special master appointed to oversee conditions at the jail. Following a string of robberies, Robinson had deputies hide randomly at convenience stores armed with shotguns to deter would-be robbers.
During his time in Congress, Robinson aligned with the “boll weevil” bloc of conservative southern Democrats who voted for many of President Ronald Reagan’s policies. When he switched parties in 1989, Arkansas was a predominantly Democratic state, but Robinson complained that the party had become too liberal.
Robinson remained in the news in the years after leaving Congress. In 1992, he was named as the worst offender in an overdraft scandal involving the House bank. The bank closed in 1991.
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