Apple s fight against the FBI on behalf of the privacy rights of their customers has taken a chilling turn, with law enforcement officers openly threatening to arrest CEO Tim Cook personally if his company denies their requests.Grady Judd, Sheriff of Polk County Florida, issued a threat of arrest to Apple CEO Tim Cook during a press conference on Sunday. Asked how he would respond if Apple (or any other telecommunications company) ever declines a request to hack a phone on behalf of law enforcement agencies, Judd gave an angry response: I can tell you, the first time we do have trouble getting into a cellphone, we re going to seek a court order from Apple. And when they deny us, I m going to go lock the CEO of Apple up,  he ranted. I ll lock the rascal up. Judd is not alone in attempting to apply this personal threat of arrest to the CEO simply for attempting to secure the privacy rights of his customers. As Newsweek reports:Judd s strong sentiments against encryption fall in line with those of other outspoken law enforcement officials in the United States. Many police departments and district attorney s offices have struggled with police investigations because of encrypted smartphones they cannot crack, Newsweek learned last month. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. testified before Congress regarding these frustrations alongside Apple s general counsel, Bruce Sewell, and FBI Director James Comey on March 1.Judd added:  You cannot create a business model to go,  We re not paying attention to the federal judge or the state judge. You see, we re above the law.  The CEO of Apple needs to know he s not above the law, and neither is anybody else in the United States. Apple has stated that if they were to comply with the request of law enforcement, they would be creating a master key that would unlock any iPhone. Once created, this masterkey could then be used for nefarious reasons by law enforcement, government, criminal and terrorist organizations around the world.In an attempt to bully Apple into surrendering the privacy rights of their customers, senior officers in law enforcement, the security services, and even government, are applying pressure to Apple as a company, and the CEO Tim Cook personally. If this doesn t scare you, it should.