A Texas Democratic candidate has been arrested for allegedly publishing a series of racist posts against himself using fake social media accounts.
Taral Patel, 30, a candidate for county commissioner in Fort Bend, Texas, was charged following an investigation after he claimed that the supporters of his opponent, incumbent Andy Meyers, were making racist insults against him online.
Patel claimed on Facebook last year that he and his family were the targets of a online racism.
“As your Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, I am always open to criticism of my policy positions and stances on issues,” Patel wrote at the time.
“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,” he added.
“Fort Bend County’s diversity has made us all stronger, and these hateful images… are from a place of deep and misguided fear – incited by people like former President Donald Trump and today’s extremist Republican party fear that immigrants are ‘taking their jobs’ and setting out to hurt our own communities.”
The “attacks” on Patel, who is Indian and Hindhu, referred to him as “monkey” and “subhuman,” The New York Post reported.
In 2021, shortly after Joe Biden took office, Patel took on a number of high-profile roles to benefit his campaign.
Patel worked in the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and was appointed by Biden to serve in the Office of White House Liaison.
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He served in the White House Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Committee.
However, suspicion began to grow after his opponent, Andy Meyers, noticed some anomalies in the “racist” posts.
Meyers told a local ABC affiliate he recognized one account named “Antonio Scalywag,” which also directed attacks at him in the past.
Investigators sent subpoenas to big tech platforms Facebook and Google, which provided data on the origin of the posts. This ultimately led to Patel, including his address, phone number, and bank information.
Patel was arrested by the Texas Rangers and charged with felony impersonation and a Class A misdemeanor charge for misrepresentation of identity.
He posted $22,500 for both charges and will return to court on July 22nd.
Fort Bend County’s GOP Chair Bobby Eberle said the arrest was “deeply concerning,” The Hill reported.
“Patel garnered widespread news coverage (like his former boss) for claiming that racist social media posts were made against him,” Eberle said in a statement.
“Whether Republican or Democrat, such tactics should be unequivocally condemned by all who value integrity and accountability in politics,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Biden’s “diversity” operative has been charged with crimes.
In 2021, Sam Brinton, a non-binary former Department of Energy appointee, was charged with felony grand larceny after he used his post to gain access to the luggage sorting area to steal a woman’s clothing.
Another incident included a former spokeswoman for Biden’s Department of Homeland Security,
Nejwa Ali, who was exposed as the former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has praised the October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel. She was later fired.
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