SUGAR LAND, TX (Covering Katy News) - Fort Bend County Commissioner Candidate Taral Patel and Judge KP George continue to avoid being in public spaces where they may be called upon to answer questions about their indictments in the fake racism - election manipulation scandal.
Patel faces four felony indictments and five misdemeanor indictments. His most recent indictment was handed up by the Grand Jury on Monday, Oct. 14 and it is for Harassment via email. The victim was not identified. George faces one misdemeanor indictment.
Patel is accused of stealing identities to post fake racist messages on social media. According to the Texas Rangers and the District Attorney's Office, Patel orchestrated the scheme to generate sympathy for himself and County Judge K.P. George, while falsely blaming the racist posts on supporters of his political opponents. Investigators claim George was aware of and approved Patel's actions during the 2022 election. Patel is now accused of continuing the scheme during the 2024 election, where he is challenging incumbent Commissioner Andy Meyers.
Patel avoided the media during a pretrial hearing in which it was mandatory that he attend on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.
Patel did not attend a candidate forum Saturday at the University of Houston Sugar Land Campus, but Meyers was there.
Covering Katy News
Commissioner Andy Meyers speaks at a candidate's forum on Saturday, Oct. 12, that Taral Patel did not take part in.
An organizer of the forum confirmed that Patel was aware of his invitation but did not respond. Patel also ignored an invitation to appear at a forum that was offered by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce. The forum was not held because Patel did not commit to being there.
Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George is also avoiding questions about his role in the scandal. George faces one misdemeanor indictment.
George has postponed his Festival of One, which was scheduled for Nov. 9, 2024. Some speculate he did so to avoid tough questions about his involvement in the fake racism case.
“He wants to act as though he is the Judge of the community, but he is afraid to present himself to the community so they can question him for his conduct and conspiring with Taral Patel and committing the actions they did,” said Sugar Land attorney Husein Hadi who has been criticized George and Patel since the scandal broke. “If, in fact, he claims to be a witness and has nothing to hide, then he should present himself and answer questions publicly, unafraid of what his answers may be and how they may be used against him in a court of law.”
Hadi also noted that if Patel is elected and later convicted of a felony, he would be required to leave office.
“If Patel does win and he is convicted of felonies by our peers’ jury, he would be withheld from commissioners court,” Hadi said. “This is per the Texas Constitution.”