RICHMOND (Covering Katy News) — The attorney for indicted Fort Bend County Judge KP George filed a motion to dismiss the indictment while protesters called for George’s resignation Tuesday.
George is charged with misrepresentation of identity, a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
The indictment alleges that George misrepresented his identity on September 26, 2022, by posing as Facebook user Antonio Scalywag in a campaign communication posted on his Facebook page “with the intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election.”
The indictments of George and Taral Patel, George’s former chief of staff, are in connection with an alleged scheme to post fabricated racist messages during George’s victorious 2022 re-election campaign against Trever Nehls, a Republican. Prosecutors said the goal was to win sympathy for George and portray Nehls in a negative light.
Patel is accused of being the author of the racist posts. George is accused of allowing Patel to post them with knowledge that the messages were fabricated.
Both George and Patel are Democrats.
Patel is seeking the Precinct 3 commissioner’s position against incumbent Andy Meyers, a Republican. Patel’s indictments are for allegedly using similar tactics in the 2024 Democratic primary and general election to manipulate the outcome of those races.
Patel has also been accused of creating a Facebook page using the name of Democratic District Court Judge Surendran Pattel without Pattel’s knowledge or approval. Patel and Pattel have similar names but are not related.
Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton’s office filed the charge in Fort Bend County Court-at-Law 5. Evett Kelly of the district attorney’s office and Texas Ranger Louis Cantzontzint led the investigation, which included subpoenas and search warrants to gather information from Patel and George's mobile phones. The search also included several electronic devices belonging to Patel, as well as records from internet service providers, credit card companies, Facebook, Google, and other sources.
About 60 protesters attended Tuesday’s rally, enjoying pleasant weather as drivers honked their horns in support while passing the courthouse. Jason Walker, a protest organizer, said the county has a judge who is pitting neighbor against neighbor. “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue,” he said.
“Hate has to be pushed back, and racism has to be pushed back, in any form,” Walker said.
Patricia David, a protester, expressed her support for the rally because she believes George must resign. “It’s a must that he step down,” David said. “What gets me the most upset is that he was deceptive. He knew all along what was going on with his chief of staff.”
David said she wouldn’t have believed such allegations against George six months ago. “Now the mask has come off, and people know what is happening,” David said.
Mary Jane Nowka, another protester, said she wants George to resign. “He’s corrupt, he’s a liar, and there’s no place for that in Fort Bend County,” Nowka said. “I am so upset about that.”
Another protester, Chris Gawlik, told KTRK-TV that typically, one does not get indicted for something one did not do. “And then, when you’re getting indicted, you don’t grab your phone and try to do a delete on the phone,” Gawlik said.
Texas Rangers say it appeared that George was attempting to reset his phone by repeatedly entering the wrong password, which can cause his model of phone to default to the factory settings.
“Judge George knows if he is guilty or not,” Commissioner Meyers said in a statement. “If he knows he is, he should apologize and resign. But instead of addressing our community’s concerns, Judge George chose to file a legal motion seeking to have his criminal charges dismissed so that he never has to explain himself to a jury or our community. It is time for the judge and my opponent, Taral Patel, to stop dodging accountability and explain what truly happened.”
Others, including Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales and Treasurer Bill Rickert, both Republicans, have also called for George’s resignation.
In the motion to dismiss the indictment, attorney Chad Dick argued that the state did not comply with applicable Texas constitutional and statutory procedures requiring the Texas Election Commission’s oversight of the alleged violations of the election code.
The motion argued that Middleton’s office filed a sworn complaint with the Texas Election Commission two days before indicting the case and did not allow the commission to start the administrative process or exhaust all remedies. It said George was never afforded a preliminary hearing or an opportunity to respond before the indictment, and that he was never granted a formal hearing.
Middleton’s office issued a statement saying that the motion is based on a recent Texas Court of Criminal Appeals opinion that forbids any district attorney from exercising his or her constitutional authority to prosecute certain Election Code crimes without first obtaining permission from the Texas Ethics Commission in Austin. The statement said the case is still open.
While George has declined interview requests since his indictment, he stated after the indictment that he intends to prove his innocence in court. “I am confident that when all the facts are presented, justice will prevail,” George said.
Middleton, like George and Patel, is a Democrat.
The owner of this publication is employed by the Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner's Office.