Taral Patel, Fort Bend County Commissioner candidate, faces 4 felony indictments
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas - Taral Patel, Democratic nominee for Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner, has been indicted for impersonating people online to threaten others.
According to court documents, Patel created Facebook accounts impersonating other people with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten others.
SUGGESTED: Taral Patel, Fort Bend Precinct 3 Commissioner candidate, arrested
He would post these comments under fake names such as "Antonio Scalywag", "Jennifer Tremaine", and "Jane Donnie".
Under the pseudonym "Antonio Scalywag", Patel is accused of posting racist comments related to Fort Bend County Commissioner of Precinct 3, Andy Meyers. Documents state Patel posted a press release on Sept. 18, 2023, showing a collage of "racist" social media posts. One of the comments in the post read, "I am with Meyers ALL THE WAY. . .unlike Patel and his followers who worship Monkey and Elephant."
Court records also revealed the profile picture uploaded to the "Antonio Scalywag" account was posted from the IP address matching the residence of Patel from Virginia. The email address from the account was also linked back to Patel.
At this time, Patel is still in the race for Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner:
"Commissioner Meyers gave this statement after the indictments were announced:
"I will not tolerate racism, and I fight it whenever I encounter it. That is why I requested an investigation into the racist attacks on my opponent. Once these attacks became public, I became very concerned about the fear and negative impacts they were having on our diverse community because my focus is on uniting communities, not dividing them. I was also concerned about the negative impacts the racist attacks were having on the reputation of Fort Bend County, as I am always focused on ensuring Fort Bend is safe, family-friendly, and business-friendly. I was stunned when investigators with the District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Rangers concluded that Taral Patel was personally responsible for fabricating these racist statements and directing them at himself and the community."