SUCH A MYSTERY WHY THERE ARE NO REPUBLICANS OF COLOR...:

When Arian Noma ran for prosecutor in a rural Washington county in 2018, he was a newcomer who vowed to stop the over-prosecution of crimes and seek bail only when necessary. Standing inside the wood-paneled Okanogan Grange, Noma gripped a microphone and told the crowd, "If you want to make change, I'm your candidate. If you want things to remain the same, I think you know who to vote for."

"As we continue to make regulations and over-regulate our citizens nationwide, over-criminalize everything ... before you know it, we all have badges of conviction," Noma said. "And if you don't have a family member or you yourself or a friend that's been through the system ... you have no idea how difficult it is to function and reintegrate into society."

The 44-year-old Republican wanted to create a reentry support group for people released from incarceration and had other grand ideas, too, which he said would ultimately save taxpayers money. "My office will not only work with law enforcement regarding cases, we will offer trainings, discussions, and other opportunities to cooperate to solve cases together," Noma, a former prosecutor in Maryland, told the Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune before winning nearly 60 percent of the vote in Okanogan County. "Rapport and comradery are essential to forging relationships."

But halfway through his four-year term, Noma resigned. In a letter to voters, he cited a "woefully deficient" budget and case backlog as reasons for his departure. One of his deputies was forced to handle more than 200 criminal cases at a time, while another was grappling with 140 cases. Noma described his predicament as fighting "tanks and guns with bows and rocks."

The final straw, Noma continued, was a series of "racially motivated attacks."

Speaking publicly for the first time since his resignation, Noma--whose ancestry includes Black, Native American and Filipino heritage--told The Daily Beast that he believes the online harassment campaign had help from law enforcement and county colleagues, including people within his own office.

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