Hillsdale County government has no shortage of “good guys.”

THE HILLSDALE CONSERVATIVES
Truth • Liberty • Local Stewardship
Hillsdale County, Michigan • Sept, 25nd, 2026 • 2¢

Sheriff Scott Hodshire now faces two felony charges, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office, arising from allegations that he disclosed confidential information from an active investigation. He has pleaded not guilty and denies knowingly interfering with that investigation. Radio Hillsdale

But the criminal case is only the newest entry in a much longer record involving complaints about fellow county officials, county clerks deleting records, stealing ballots, the use of the Sheriff’s Departments basement during the Fair Board dispute, and repeated questions from commissioners about major purchases made before the normal approval process was completed. Most recently, commissioners approved payment for radio equipment that had already been received while publicly criticizing the procurement process. Radio Hillsdale

So before anyone decides who the “good guys” are, it may be worth doing something increasingly unfashionable in Hillsdale County:

Read the record.

Hodshire has interfered with another agency’s investigation involving people he knew.

Michigan State Police investigated Hodshire over events beginning February 18, 2026.

Court records show that Hodshire was subsequently charged with:

Obstruction of justice

and

Misconduct in office.

The warrant alleges that Hodshire disclosed confidential information about an active investigation to a suspect “and/or” the suspect’s family. https://www.wilx.com

Radio Hillsdale reported that Hodshire pleaded not guilty at his September 2 arraignment. Each charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine if convicted. Radio Hillsdale

Hodshire denies wrongdoing, and the allegations remain just that until the criminal case is resolved.

But the accusation is especially notable against the background of the conflicts that preceded it.

When a complaint concerned his friend Abe Dane, Hodshire cited conflict.

Now the Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting Hodshire on allegations that he disclosed confidential investigative information to people connected to another criminal suspect. https://www.wilx.com

The court will determine whether that constitutes obstruction or misconduct in office.

The contrast in the public record already exists.

Then there was the Fair Board

The same overlap between private relationships and public law-enforcement authority surfaced during the 2025 Hillsdale County Fair controversy.

Hodshire’s undersheriff, Nathan Lambright, is also president of the Hillsdale County Agricultural Society’s Fair Board.

On October 23, 2025, a Fair Board meeting that residents and paying members expected to attend at the fairgrounds was moved to the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office basement.

The Hillsdalian later reported that an officer stationed outside told those attempting to enter:

“This is not a public meeting. This is for the Fair Board only.”

Afterward, Hodshire reportedly sent text messages warning members of Hillsdale Conservatives that their actions could constitute trespassing. No trespass charges were pursued by the county prosecutor. Hillsdalian

A later formal complaint alleged that members were not notified of the meeting, that they were denied entry by Sheriff’s personnel, and that Hodshire threatened felony trespass after they attempted to attend. Those claims were submitted as for investigation. Shockingly, no investigation occurred. Hillsdale Conservative Network

The underlying circumstances, however, are not disputed simply because their legal consequences remain unresolved.

A Fair Board headed by Hillsdale County’s undersheriff met secretly in the Sheriff’s Department basement.

Sheriff’s personnel prevented would-be attendees and paying members from entering.

And Hodshire subsequently reported those residents to the prosecutor for felony trespassing.

The Fair Board later changed course on another part of the dispute. After consulting an attorney, Fair Manager Sabine Young informed previously rejected paying applicants that they would be allowed to proceed with membership applications. Hillsdalian

Again, the same question appeared:

What happens when the authority of the Sheriff’s Department becomes intertwined with the interests of people close to its leadership?

The money: body cameras

The recent spending controversies require some precision as they are new and information abounds from numerous sources.

The county did consider using money associated with the 800 MHz emergency-communications project to purchase body cameras.

In August, commissioners considered approximately $300,000 in emergency-radio funding for roughly 30 body cameras. The proposal generated objections over whether body cameras fit the purpose voters had approved for the communications funding. Hillsdalian

But that is not ultimately how the cameras were paid for. As it was potentially unlawful.

Later reporting states that the body-camera program cost approximately $220,000 and was paid from the Sheriff’s budget. After the bribe from the solar company didn’t come to fruition.

The controversy was instead over how the purchase occurred.

Commissioners said the cameras had been purchased without prior Board approval and raised concerns about whether county procurement procedures had been followed. Blue Water Healthy Living

The issue was not that Hodshire simply took millage money for body cameras.

The issue was that commissioners said a major purchase had already occurred before the body responsible for county budgeting had approved it.

And then it happened again.

The radios: buy first, ask the commissioners afterward

On September 22, 2026 commissioners confronted another Sheriff’s Department purchase.

This time the bill was approximately $109,000 for radio equipment.

According to reporting from the Hillsdale Daily News, commissioners said the equipment had been acquired without an approved budget allocation.

The equipment was already in the county’s possession and could not simply be returned. Blue Water Healthy Living

The Board voted 4-1 to pay the bill from the county’s 800 MHz bond fund.

Commissioner Brad Benzing voted no. Not very friendly.

His criticism of the process was direct:

“Your department cannot operate in a vacuum.”

The concern was not whether deputies needed communications equipment.

It was whether the Sheriff’s Department could acquire expensive equipment outside the approved budget process and then place the commissioners in the position of paying the invoice afterward. Blue Water Healthy Living

The body-camera and radio controversies therefore share a common feature.

In both cases, commissioners said major equipment had been purchased before the normal approval process had been completed.

It appears the commissioners and the Sheriff are no longer friends, well, at least some of them.

Different events. The same question.

The Adams Township election dispute is not the same thing as the Fair Board controversy.

The Fair Board controversy is not the same thing as the radio purchase.

The spending disputes are not the same thing as Hodshire’s pending felony case.

And none should be falsely presented as proof of another.

But public officials are judged through records, and those records can be examined together without pretending the events are identical.

The record shows Hodshire was informed about the Adams Township dispute while it was unfolding.

It later contained sworn testimony from Dane acknowledging acts that citizens were demanding be investigated.

Another election-law complaint involving Dane reached the Sheriff’s Office about Fayette and it’s 2026 election.

According to the published complaint record, Hodshire’s stated conflict was that Dane was his friend. Hillsdale Conservative Network

Hodshire’s undersheriff simultaneously served as Fair Board president while a secrect Fair Board meeting was held inside the Sheriff’s Department basement and attendees were kept outside being threated with felony trespass . Hillsdalian

Commissioners have now twice complained about major Sheriff’s Department purchases being made before the normal county approval process was completed. Blue Water Healthy Living

And Hodshire now faces two felony charges alleging that he disclosed confidential information from an active criminal investigation to a suspect or members of the suspect’s family. He has pleaded not guilty. Radio Hillsdale

That leaves Hillsdale County with a question that is much larger than any single case.

What happens when enforcing the law means investigating your friends?

A sheriff cannot choose who the law applies to.

And where Michigan Election Law specifically imposes duties on peace officers who are present and have knowledge of violations, friendship does not rewrite the statute. Michigan Legislature

Scott Hodshire will have his opportunity to defend himself against the felony charges now pending against him.

Abe Dane has the same right to dispute claims made about his conduct.

The Fair Board can defend its decisions.

The Sheriff’s Department can explain its purchases.

But none of these friendships require the public to forget the record.

The calls.

The complaints.

The court testimony.

The secret meeting inside the Sheriff’s Department basement.

The purchases made before commissioners approved them.

The conflict of interest involving the county clerk.

And now the criminal case against the sheriff himself.

Those facts deserve to be examined together, carefully and accurately.

Because the real test of law enforcement is not how aggressively government investigates people outside its circle.

It is what happens when the person on the other side of the complaint is a friend.

in liberty,
Bad guy, Lance Lashaway