Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds encouraged citizens to come forward if they felt they had been victimized by social media posts. This followed the sheriff’s arrest of a citizen for posting a meme.
In his November 10 announcement, Sheriff Deeds wrote that “much of what is posted online is protected by the 1st Amendment,” but “these acts may sometimes constitute a criminal offense, such as the example below, from a recent and notable case.”
Deeds cited Texas Penal Code 33.07, which criminalizes impersonating someone online “without obtaining the other person’s consent and with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten any person.”
Last week, his office charged local activist Kolton Krottinger with felonious “online impersonation.” One of his bond conditions banned him from using social media.
Krottinger’s attorney, Robert Christian, said his client was arrested for “posting a meme” and that he’d “never seen anyone get arrested for engaging in political speech” in his 25 years serving as both a prosecutor and defense attorney.
Nate Criswell, former Hood County GOP chair, said that Krottinger’s post was “satirical” and that the arrest was politically motivated.
In his November 10 announcement, Sheriff Deeds encouraged any citizen who felt he or she was a victim of a crime—whether an online crime or or any other type—to file an offense report with the appropriate authorities. He emphasized that “any crime reported to the Sheriff’s Office will be investigated to the fullest extent of the law.”
Sheriff Deeds mentioned his office was aware of “numerous social media posts” that directed “bullying, harassment, threats and similar [acts],” towards Hood County citizens. He provided no further clarity.
Criswell believes free speech is under threat. “By his soliciting more complaints, Sheriff Deeds is declaring a New War on Memes,” he wrote to Texas Scorecard. “If we allow this to continue unchecked, there will be no more Free Speech, and the State of Texas will never be the same.”
He also asked Hood County District Attorney Ryan Sinclair to drop the charges against Krottinger.
Hood County GOP Chair Greg Harrell agreed. “We must not and cannot allow the silencing of political dialogue to continue in our community,” he posted on social media.
Neither Sheriff Deeds nor the district attorney’s office answered a request for comment about the November 10 post before publication.
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