Johnson County helped pay for Sheriff Hayden’s Las Vegas trip to far-right conference

Johnson County taxpayers helped pay Sheriff Calvin Hayden’s expenses during a trip to Las Vegas this summer where he promoted his investigation into baseless allegations surrounding the 2020 election to a gathering of hard-right law enforcement officials.

Johnson County paid nearly $300 in per diem to Hayden for attending a conference of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association – a fringe group of sheriffs who contend they can refuse to enforce laws they view as unconstitutional – even though the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office had previously only said the association paid for the trip.

While the amount is small, the per diem underscores Hayden’s use of public resources to build his profile and advance his long-running election investigation. The investigation has led to no criminal charges but has fueled conspiracy theories and undercut public confidence in local elections.

Johnson County election officials have repeatedly vouched for the security of elections, and Hayden has previously acknowledged he lacks enough evidence to allege criminal activity, even as he continues to pursue the inquiry.

A filled-out per diem request form for Hayden’s trip lists a five day outing, with Hayden receiving $69 per day for the three days he was in Las Vegas and smaller amounts for the two days he was traveling, for a total of $293.25. The purpose of the request provided on the form is the conference.

Documented, a Washington, D.C.-based investigative watchdog that is investigating what it calls the Republican “war on democracy,” obtained the document through a public records request to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and shared it with The Star.

The so-called constitutional sheriffs movement claims that county sheriffs are the supreme law of the land and their authority supersedes all others as long as they are protecting American citizens from enemies, foreign or domestic.The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has said Hayden isn’t a member of the association.

The Star originally reported on Hayden’s trip to Las Vegas in July. When a reporter at the time asked who was paying Hayden’s expenses for the trip, Shelby Colburn, a spokesperson for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, said at the time that only that the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association was paying.

Asked about the per diem request last week, Sgt. Jesse Valdez, a spokesperson for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, said Hayden did not request a per diem, “but it was given to him per county policy.”

Kelli Taylor, a spokesperson for Johnson County, said the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office fiscal division initiated the per diem request – meaning the request came from within the Sheriff’s Office, which is under Hayden’s control.

A copy of county per diem procedures provided by Taylor says per diem is provided in lieu of reimbursing travelers the actual cost of meals. County policy allows per diem to be claimed for county-related business including attendance at trainings, conferences or seminars, Taylor said, adding that as an elected official, Hayden’s business expenses do not need approval by the county manager.

Documented also shared a document containing flight reservations for Hayden’s trip, which indicates he was scheduled to fly with his wife, Kelly Hayden. The reservation doesn’t include the cost of the flights. Valdez said the form was kept “to document his travel was paid for” and so that details of the flights could be referenced if necessary.

“As we said previously, CSPOA paid for travel expenses to the event to include air, transportation, and lodging,” Valdez said in an email.

Don Haider-Markel, a University of Kansas political science professor and expert on extremism, said the reimbursement raised concerns.

“It just seems at minimum inappropriate for him to even accept that per diem,” Haider-Markel said. “You can consider it a conference, but the nature of the conference is highly problematic.”

Hayden has previously faced criticism for using county resources to investigate elections. Roeland Park Mayor Mike Kelly, who last week was elected chair of the Johnson County Commission, earlier this year called on Hayden to suspend the “baseless, politically-motivated ‘investigation.’”

The Star’s Judy Thomas contributed reporting