ex-Biden White House appointee arrested for faking hate crime

[rogue06]

A story that the networks, and the MSM aside from USA Today ignored:

Source: Texas politician accused of creating Facebook profile to send himself hate messages

A Texas candidate's since-debunked claims that his opponents supporters were trolling him with racist hate has led to comparisons with Jussie Smollett's staged hate crime.

A Texas Democrat running for county commission was taken into custody after being accused of creating a fraudulent social media profile to send hateful messages to his official account.

Taral Patel, a Fort Bend county commissioner candidate in Precinct 3, was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Wednesday, KTRK and TND reported. He was charged with third-degree online impersonation, a felony, and misrepresentation of identity, a misdemeanor.

USA TODAY contacted Texas Public Safety and the Fort Bend District Attorney's Office for additional comment. Patel's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fort Bend County is about 38 miles from Houston.

Patel claimed he was targeted by hate messages

Last September, Patel created a post on his campaign page claiming that he received a slew of hate comments from the supporters of his Republican opponents. Attached to the post were screenshots of the alleged messages.

"As your Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, I am always open to criticism of my policy positions and stances on issues," Patel stated. "However, when my Republican opponents supporters' decide to hurl #racist, #anti-immigrant, #Hinduphobic, or otherwise disgusting insults at my family, faith community, colleagues, and me - that crosses a line."

Arrest documents obtained by KTRK say that the post sparked Patel's Republican challenger, Andy Meyers, to ask the DA to investigate the matter. According to the report, Meyers informed law enforcement that he was familiar with an account dubbed "Antonio Scalywag" that took digs at him in the past.

The probe revealed that the account, which had a phony profile picture of a random man, was linked to Patel's personal information. Investigators allege Patel used the profile between October 2022 and May 2024, KVUE reported.

Local GOP party responds in statement

Following Patel's arrest, the Fort Bend County GOP released a statement likening the accused's alleged actions to Jussie Smollett, an actor who was found guilty of staging a 2019 attack, according to reports.

"Patel garnered widespread news coverage...for claiming racist social media posts were made against him," chairman Bobby Eberle wrote in a statement. "Now, based on the arrest warrant and much like Jussie Smollet, it appears that Patel used a fake Facebook account to send racist messages to himself and then blamed his political opponents."

[...]



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It is obviously a dark day for America that there just aren't enough racists around that liberals are left with no option but to make them up

[Sparko]

Wait so you can be arrested for creating sock puppet accounts in Texas?

[Mountain Man]

Wait so you can be arrested for creating sock puppet accounts in Texas?

I have to assume there was more to it. Maybe it's considered defamation since he used the fake account to harm his opponent's reputation.

[rogue06]

Wait so you can be arrested for creating sock puppet accounts in Texas?

According to the aptly named The Texan:

Formerly chief of staff to Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George, Patel was arrested during a traffic stop on June 12 and booked into the county jail on two counts of felony Online Impersonation. Also charged with Misrepresentation of Identity, a class A misdemeanor, Patel was released on bonds totaling $22,500.

According to affidavits filed by investigators with the Texas Rangers and the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office (FBCDAO), in 2022, Patel created a Facebook profile under the name “Antonio Scalywag,” which he used to make multiple offensive posts “with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten.”

For Scalywag’s profile picture, Patel used a photo of a “white male and female…with two children,” which investigators determined to be of Fort Bend County resident Patrick Ernst along with his wife and two minor children.

Posts from the Scalywag account included support for former President Donald Trump and other Republicans, but others were critical of Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers (R-Pct. 3). After Patel announced plans to run as a Democrat for the commissioner’s seat, “Antonio Scalywag” shifted to making positive comments about Meyers but with a racist tinge.

In September 2023, the account sent out a press release with images of social media posts that called Patel a “dirty Pakistani” and other incendiary terms, and accused him of worshiping “Monkey and Elephant.” Although not all the posts appear to have been from “Antonio Scalywag,” investigators were able to tie several to the account.

A local ABC affiliate up in Chicago notes that

On Wednesday, the Texas Rangers arrested Patel on a third-degree felony charge for online impersonation and a Class A misdemeanor charge for misrepresentation of identity, which is found under the Texas Election Code. A spokesperson with the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office said this is the first time their agency has charged someone with an election-related misdemeanor

[Sparko]

So we can get Cow Poke arrested for using his grandchildren as his avatar....

[mossrose]

Will I get arrested for having a giant The Pin™ as my avatar?

[rogue06]

Will I get arrested for having a giant The Pin™ as my avatar?

You're more likely to get arrested for having The PIN™ itself than for having it as your avatar.

[mossrose]

You're more likely to get arrested for having The PIN™ itself than for having it as your avatar.

[Sparko]

Will I get arrested for having a giant The Pin™ as my avatar?

You are good. You aren't from Texas.

[mossrose]

You are good. You aren't from Texas.

[Diogenes]

Will I get arrested for having a giant The Pin™ as my avatar?

The rolling pin is not only a symbol of patriarchal white supremist colonialism, it's also a time-honoured weapon. Please remain calm and do not leave your location while I contact the RCMP. Do not be alarmed if you see The Flying Moose of the Yard Squad.

[mossrose]

The rolling pin is not only a symbol of patriarchal white supremist colonialism, it's also a time-honoured weapon. Please remain calm and do not leave your location while I contact the RCMP. Do not be alarmed if you see The Flying Moose of the Yard Squad.

Maybe I should get a frying pan, instead.

[Cow Poke]

Wait so you can be arrested for creating sock puppet accounts in Texas?

It's downright nearly a hangin' offense!

[Cow Poke]

So we can get Cow Poke arrested for using his grandchildren as his avatar....

OK, buster, you're crossin the line!

Somebody git a dope!

[Sparko]

OK, buster, you're crossin the line!

Somebody git a dope!

Here Jimmy!! Here boy!