i believe interfering with a federal officer is a pretty "heavy" charge.
for one it takes it from a statutory "crime" to that of "felony" i would think
but this article seems to say otherwise:
http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=5&id=29469
McGee had worked out a deal to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of interfering, intimidating and impeding a federal officer, but U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton withdrew from the case without explanation and the Justice Department sent it to federal prosecutors in Louisiana.
except that now it is in the hands of the Justice Dept in Louisiana...like i said "federal"..this article explains what the charge would have been had he not plead guilty to the "misdemeanor":
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060224/NEWS01/602240303/1002"I was told that I could either plead to this misdemeanor or I and my deputies would be indicted on felony charges," McGee said. "I've asked the government on three separate occasions to indict me and leave the deputies out of it because they were only acting at my direction."
and what still might occur:
Lampton's background in the National Guard - he is a retired judge advocate - and political pressure are factors in the case, McGee said.
"I feel like he's probably getting some pressure from the Mississippi National Guard," McGee said. "He told me the governor personally demanded I be prosecuted for this
i'm with mr ortt on this one...although with a "heavy heart"...mainly because at the bottom of the other article it lists the "chain of events" (supposedly).
either way...federal law (even national guardsmen---run by the state but under federal control i believe) "trumps" state laws in a state of emergency let alone "county" laws of which this sherrif represented.
like i said it is with a "heavy heart"...but the law is the law...and you do not handcuff (and arrest and take to the station) a Captain in the National Guard if you are a county Sherrif...FEMA maybe.
When the soldier refused to get off the truck, he was handcuffed, placed in a patrol car and driven to the sheriff's office where he was cited for interfering with an officer and released.
if you search for "interfering with a federal officer" in any search engine there are several articles that come up dealing solely with this case..