Taral Patel, a former Fort Bend County staffer and commissioner candidate, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two misdemeanor charges after he was accused of creating fake social media profiles to post racist messages about himself, according to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office.
Patel also admitted in his plea deal to committing one of the misdemeanors along with Fort Bend County Judge KP George. George is accused of working alongside Patel to sway the outcome of an election. He is also accused of money laundering an amount of more than $30,000 but less than $150,000.
Patel agreed to a two-year deferred adjudication probation on the misdemeanors, which includes a “litany of conditions,” a statement from the district attorney’s office said.
The agreement requires Patel to complete 200 hours of community service, have no contact with the victims or contact with the elected officials he maligned, and to write letters of apology to each victim and the Fort Bend community at large.
Patel also promised to cooperate in any future legal proceedings. In exchange for his plea, the remaining misdemeanor charges were dismissed.
Patel was indicted in September on four felony counts of online impersonation with intent to injure a candidate, court documents show. He was also indicted on misdemeanor charges of online impersonation and harassment for a total of nine charges.
[…]
“Justice and accountability were achieved today when Taral Patel accepted responsibility and pled guilty to the offenses,” said District Attorney Brian Middleton in a statement. “We believe the terms of the plea bargain are fair for the community and for the defendant. Now we can all move forward.”
See here for some background. That mention of Judge KP George and the agreement by Patel to cooperate in any future proceedings is a clear message to Judge George, and he responded to it.
George’s lawyer, Jared Woodfill, released a statement Wednesday disputing Patel’s claim. Woodfill blasted Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton for “cutting backroom deals” and using Patel as a “pawn.”
“Mr. Patel’s plea agreement, which is a mere slap on the wrist, appears to be the DA’s effort to further manufacture a case against George cutting backroom deals in exchange for testimony,” the statement said. “The case is about DA Middleton capturing the news headlines in an effort to influence an election in his favor.”
Patel was indicted in September on four felony counts of online impersonation with intent to injure a candidate, court documents show. He was also indicted on misdemeanor charges of online impersonation and harassment for a total of nine charges.
Patel in court documents admitted that he “freely and voluntarily confess that I did commit the offense of misrepresentation of identity/candidate in Fort Bend County on or about 9/26/22 along with Kyle Prasad George.”
See here and here for some more background. And all I can say right now is wait a damn minute, he’s being represented by Jared fucking Woodfill? Dude, could you not find a more respectable lawyer than that? Oh my God. I’m going to go sit down for a minute. Talk among yourselves.