Texas official charged with making fake social media posts during election

HOUSTON – The top elected official of a suburban Houston county was indicted Thursday on allegations he made fake and racist social media posts as he seeks re-election in 2022.

A grand jury indicted Fort Bend County Judge KP George for misrepresenting the identity of a candidate.

The indictment alleges that on September 26, 2022, in a campaign announcement posted on George's Facebook page, he impersonated a Facebook user named “Antonio Scalywag” “with the intent to harm a candidate or influence the outcome of an election.” “.

Neither the election that was allegedly influenced nor the candidate who was harmed were explained in more detail in the indictment. But at the time, George, a Democrat, was running for re-election as district judge against Trever Nehls, the twin brother of Texas Congressman Troy Nehls. A district judge serves as the chief executive officer of a county in Texas.

George was charged after authorities accused him in a Sept. 17 search warrant of working with his former chief of staff Taral Patal to publish racist social media posts targeting George under the pseudonym “Antonio Scalywag.” To gain sympathy for the district judge. After the search warrant was issued, George's cell phones and computers were seized.

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

Patal, who is running for county commissioner in the Nov. 5 election, was indicted earlier this month on four counts of online impersonation and four counts of misrepresenting his identity. Authorities allege Patal also used the pseudonym “Antonio Scalywag” to post racist posts intended to help him in his own race for county commissioner.

A spokesman for George said in an email Thursday that the district judge would not immediately comment on the charges. The Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, which led the investigation, declined to comment. Frank Yeverino, an attorney for Patel, did not immediately return 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 and do not expect to be,” George said in his statement last week.

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