Fort Bend County Judge KP George rejects calls to resign amid social post scandal

RICHMOND, Texas (KIAH) — Fort Bend County Judge KP George is rejecting calls to resign, despite protesters showing up before Tuesday’s commissioners’ court meeting, demanding he step down.

George is charged in an alleged fake racism scheme to influence his 2022 re-election bid. He denies any involvement and his attorney is working to get the case thrown out.

On Monday, George has filed a motion to dismiss the misdemeanor charge that he was working to post fake racist social media posts to help him in his 2022 reelection.

In a filing, Chad Dick, George’s attorney, filed a motion saying that the indictment against George is invalid due to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office filing it before the Texas Election Commission had a chance to provide oversight over the charges.

George is charged with a Class A misdemeanor of online misrepresentation of identity for his alleged role with his former chief of staff, Taral Patel, who was also indicted for making racist posts under the alias of “Antonio Scalywag,” putting the racist posts on their own Facebook pages.

George is accused of using the alias to post racist statements that were supportive of his 2022 opponent, former Fort Bend County constable Trever Nehls.

The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement on the George dismissal filing.

“The attorney for KP George recently filed a motion claiming that his prosecution for the misdemeanor charge of Misrepresentation of Identity under the Texas Election Code is unconstitutional,” the statement said.

“The motion is based on a recent Texas Court of Criminal Appeals opinion that forbids any district attorney from exercising his or her constitutional authority to prosecute certain Election Code crimes without first obtaining permission from the Texas Ethics Commission in Austin.”

“KP George’s motion is premature.  The decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals is not final and is still being appealed,” the statement continues.

“Moreover, this decision runs counter to one of the foundational principles of the Texas Constitution, which is that local district attorneys have exclusive authority to pursue violations of law in their local jurisdictions.  The concept of a gatekeeper in Austin assuming this kind of control over how local elections are policed is contrary to this important principle.”

“It is important to note that the District Attorney’s investigation into the allegations against KP George is still ongoing, and this filing does not change our position on the matter.”

“We recognize the public interest in this proceeding, but the rules of legal ethics require both prosecutors and defense attorneys not to make public statements that could materially affect a court proceeding.  As such, we will file our response and present our arguments to the trial court, and trust that KP George’s lawyers will do the same.”

Meanwhile, the calls for George to step down continues. Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers — who is running against Patel for his seat in this November’s election — demands that both George and Patel come clean about their alleged scheme.

“Today, dozens of protesters gathered peacefully to demand KP George’s resignation, echoing what I called for three weeks ago,” Meyers said in a statement.

“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.”

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