Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton didn't allow the facts to interfere with a photo op as he lashed out at a progressive prosecutor for dropping charges against a transgender person who participated in an LGBTQ protest Friday.
There was just one problem – Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza had nothing to do with it.
The decision to drop charges against activist Adri Perez was made by other county officials without the DA’s input, according to reporting at the Dallas Morning News.
Perez, who is transgender and an organizer with the liberal advocacy group Texas Freedom Network, was arrested during a protest Tuesday against legislation that would ban gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender minors, the newspaper reported. He was charged initially with assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest and disrupting a public meeting.
All of the charges were dropped against Perez, prompting Paxton – “a staunch Republican and vocal opponent to LGBTQ rights,” in the words of the Morning News – to issue a statement condemning the decision not to prosecute Perez.
“Paxton blamed Garza, a progressive Democrat, for the decision," the report said. “He used the incident to urge lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow for the removal of local prosecutors for not fully enforcing some criminal statutes.”
Paxton said, “Garza’s indifference to political violence is a threat to public safety and an attempt to intimidate those who disagree with his extremist agenda.”
But it turns out Garza wasn’t part of the case. A spokesperson for the Travis County’s Sheriff’s Office said it was a county attorney who dropped the charges of resisting arrest and disruption, and it was a municipal court judge who disposed of the assault charge, the newspaper reported.
Garza issued a statement of his own, noting that the decision that triggered Paxton’s attack on him was made by other county officials without the input of his office, the newspaper reported.
And he added, “This is yet another example of state leadership commenting on a criminal case in Travis County and getting the facts wrong. The Texas Attorney General is currently under felony indictment and under a federal criminal investigation. He should focus on his own legal troubles instead of interfering in the Travis County criminal process.”
The Morning News added, “Paxton was indicted for securities fraud in 2015 but has not gone to trial on those charges. He is also reportedly being investigated by the FBI regarding his relationship with a campaign donor. Paxton has denied all the allegations against him.”