A federal jury on Tuesday awarded more than $5 million to four former high-ranking Adams County Sheriff’s Office employees who said former Sheriff Richard Reigenborn forced them to resign in 2019 because they had supported his opponent in the election, their attorney said.

A federal jury found former Adams County Sheriff Rick Reigenborn was political and punitive and violated the First Amendment when he fired four top commanders because they supported his opponent.

A federal jury awarded over $5 million to a sheriff and three deputies who accused the former sheriff of supporting a different candidate for sheriff in 2018.

"Sheriff Reigenborn admitted that he looked at who donated to the other campaigns because that’s public information," attorney Iris Halpern said.

Adams County Sheriff Gene Claps and some current and former Adams deputies are suing county commissioners over what they claim were politically motivated firings by previous Sheriff Rick Reigenborn.