Texas official indicted, accused of making fake social media posts during election

HOUSTON (AP) — The top elected official in a county in suburban Houston was indicted on Thursday over allegations he created fake and racist social media posts when he ran for re-election in 2022.

A grand jury indicted Fort Bend County Judge KP George on a misdemeanor charge of misrepresentation of identity of a candidate.

The indictment alleges that on Sept. 26, 2022, he posed as a Facebook user named “Antonio Scalywag” in a campaign communication posted on George’s Facebook page “with intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election.”

The indictment did not specify the election that was allegedly influenced or the candidate that was injured. But at the time, George, a Democrat, was running for re-election as county judge against Trever Nehls, who is the twin brother of Texas congressman Troy Nehls. A county judge serves as the chief executive officer of a county in Texas.

George was indicted after authorities accused him in a Sept. 17 search warrant of working with his former chief of staff, Taral Patal, to use the “Antonio Scalywag” alias to post racist social media posts targeting George in order to garner sympathy for the county judge. After the search warrant was issued, George’s cell phones and computer were seized.

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George, who was born in India and later became a U.S. citizen, is the first person of color to serve as county judge in Fort Bend, a diverse county located southwest of Houston. It has been one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. in recent years. He was first elected as county judge in 2018.

Patal, who is running for a county commissioner position in the Nov. 5 election, was indicted earlier this month on four charges of online impersonation and four charges of misinterpretation of identity. Authorities allege Patal also used the “Antonio Scalywag” alias to make racist posts to help him in his own race for county commissioner.

A spokesperson for George said in an email Thursday that the county judge would not immediately comment on the indictment. The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, which led the investigation, declined to comment. Frank Yeverino, an attorney for Patel, did not immediately reply to a call seeking comment.

In a statement last week, George said he believed he was a witness and not a target of the investigation.

“I have not been charged with any crime, nor do I expect to be,” George had said in last week’s statement.

At least one Fort Bend County commissioner, Vincent Morales, called for George to resign following his indictment.