FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Outrage continues in Fort Bend County as we continue to learn more about a social media hoax linking the county judge.
Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, members of the Fort Bend County Republican Party gathered for a protest outside the county courthouse to let residents know what is happening, in what they call corruption surrounding county Democrats.
This comes after County Judge KP George’s attorney filed a motion to throw out the indictment against him after he was linked in connection to social media hoax allegations. The Texas Election Commission has authority over the case first, and once that process is completed, it can go to the Fort Bend District Attorney’s office.
The protestors called for George to resign.
“We are demanding that he step down and do the right thing,” protestor Laura Aguilar said.
“We want someone who has good moral values, and when you pull stunts like that, how can you trust the guy?” Ron, another protestor, said.
George walked up to KPRC 2′s cameras before Tuesday’s commissioner’s meeting.
KPRC 2 reporter Corley Peel asked him if he would be willing to speak about his indictment.
“No, actually,” George replied. “I just want to simply say that today, what is going on here is everyone has the right to assemble and let their voices heard. And at the same time, I have the right to due process and am pursing that, 100 percent. My attorney has filed a writ to dismiss all the charges. Meantime, I will continue to serve the people of Fort Bend County. At this time, that is all I can say. Thank you for being here.”
Corley asked him his thoughts the calls for his resignation and if voters should still trust him, but he declined to comment further.
George was indicted by a grand jury last month for misrepresenting the identify of a candidate. His attorney recently filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, saying the state didn’t comply with a mandatory provision laid out in the Texas Constitution.
Taral Patel, George’s former chief of staff, was arrested back in June. Patel had recently won the Democratic nomination in the race for Fort Bend County Pct. 3 commissioner at the time of his arrest.
Both Patel and George are accused of having a role in the hoax involved creating and using fake social media accounts to make posts that painted them as victims of racists and xenophobic attacks during their campaigns to seek sympathy from voters.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire withdrew his support for Patel in his run for Pct. 3 commissioner in a Facebook post Tuesday:
“In view of recent events, I am withdrawing my endorsement for Taral Patel for Fort Bend County Commissioner Precinct 3,” the post read.
Patel’s opponent and current commissioner, Andy Meyers also released the following statement:
“Today, dozens of protesters gathered peacefully to demand KP George’s resignation, echoing what I called for three weeks ago. Judge George knows if he is guilty or not. 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.”