A Democrat judge from the Houston area and his former chief of staff, who is also running for county commissioner as a Democrat, are now facing calls to step down from their respective political races after they allegedly engaged in a race-based hoax to gin up sympathy for their respective campaigns.
The alleged scheme involves Fort Bend County Judge KP George, a naturalized U.S. citizen from India; Taral Patel, who is running for the seat representing Precinct 3 on the Fort Bend County Commission; and a Facebook account named “Antonio Scalywag.”
‘I am with Meyers ALL THE WAY … unlike Patel and his followers who worship Monkey and Elephant.’
Under the Scalywag alter-ego, Patel allegedly posted to Facebook, “Was he even born here? Probably communist,” in reference to himself.
In another post in reference to his opponent, Republican incumbent Andy Meyers, Patel, posing as Scalywag, allegedly wrote: “I am with Meyers ALL THE WAY … unlike Patel and his followers who worship Monkey and Elephant.”
The profile picture for the Scalywag account features the photo of a man from Needville who has denied any connection with the account. However, according to the Houston Landing, the account is affiliated with an email address tied to Patel’s parents and a credit card number associated with Patel.
Last September, Patel tweeted a graphic of some of those messages, denouncing them as “a barrage of racist attacks” designed to thwart his campaign for commissioner.
In June, Patel was arrested and charged with four counts of felony online impersonation and two counts of misdemeanor misrepresentation of identity, KTRK reported.
As they were looking into Patel’s case, investigators also stumbled upon messages that implicated Judge George as well.
Two years ago, when Patel was still George’s chief of staff and assisting on George’s re-election campaign, Patel allegedly texted George: “They are just blowing up our social media. I will use fake account to counter them.”
On another occasion, Patel allegedly wrote to George that he would be “posting the image now.”
“Let me know if you approve, I’ll share this post,” Patel also wrote, according to the warrant. KTRK reported that these messages may relate to racist statements from Scalywag and other fake accounts used by Patel.
“Also add, this heinous act doesn’t represent Fort Bend County we are that most diverse and inclusive county, our diversity is our strength,” came the alleged reply from George.
Within days of allegedly sending that response in 2022, George publicly slammed the messages and claimed they could be linked to his then-opponent, Trever Nehls, the twin brother of Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls.
“Many of these people are even tagging his website and web page and things of that nature,” George told KTRK at the time, “and if he’s not a part of this or doesn’t appreciate it, he needs to come out and say that.”
‘The allegations are that George and Taral Patel coordinated the racist messages … to essentially make KP George a victim, for the purpose of obviously winning a political race.’
Through a spokesperson, George immediately dismissed the allegations raised in the last several weeks and claimed he was “a witness, not a target” in the investigation. “I have not been charged with any crime, nor do I expect to be,” he said in a statement issued September 20.
George’s expectations turned out to be wrong.
Last Thursday, a grand jury indicted George on a misdemeanor count of misrepresentation of the identity of a candidate. The indictment accuses George of using the Scalywag Facebook account on September 26, 2022, “with intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election.”
Allegations have also arisen suggesting that George attempted to force his Samsung device to undergo a factory reset.
When investigators seized the device on September 17, they reportedly found that someone had input an incorrect passcode 15 times. Five more incorrect passcode attempts, and the device would reportedly have triggered a factory reset.
A Texas Ranger witnessed George manipulating the device, court documents indicated. George has not been charged with obstruction or tampering with evidence.
In a statement issued last Thursday, George insisted that “when all the facts are presented, justice will prevail.”
“In this country, you are innocent until proven guilty, and I fully intend to prove my innocence in court,” his statement added.
Frank Yeverino, an attorney for Patel, did not respond to KTRK’s request for comment.
Meyers, Patel’s opponent, finds the allegations shocking. “The allegations are that George and Taral Patel coordinated the racist messages that were basically posted during his campaign to essentially make KP George a victim, for the purpose of obviously winning a political race,” Meyers said, according to the Daily Mail.
“They did this for their personal gain which I think is reprehensible.”
Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy, a fellow Democrat, has called on Patel to drop his campaign.
“Do we rally behind an individual facing credible allegations of undermining trust in our democracy just because they’re on our team?” McCoy wrote in a letter, according to the Houston Landing.
“This is about the future of our community, and we cannot stand idly by and act and give our consent for this sort of behavior with our silence.”
County Republican Chairman Bobby Eberle likewise suggested that, if the allegations are true, Patel and George should step aside for their “deeply corrupt and shameful” attempts to stoke “racial division.”
“When Democrat KP George claimed in 2022 to be the victim of racist social media posts, something just didn’t feel right. Fast forward to this election cycle, and his former chief of staff and now Democrat candidate for Precinct 3 Commissioner, Taral Patel, claimed the exact same thing. Both blamed their Republican opponents and supporters,” Eberle said.
“Fort Bend County voters should reject the politics of racial division and election interference,” his statement continued. “These Democrats do not deserve to ever represent Fort Bend County, and it begs the question: In this current regime, how many more Democrats are involved?”
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