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.