This article has been updated since publication.
A citizen arrested for a social media post has sued the public officials responsible, alleging multiple violations of his constitutional rights and federal law.
Brandon Grable and CJ Grisham, attorneys for Hood County resident Kolton Krottinger, filed the civil lawsuit on January 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Named in the lawsuit are Sheriff Roger Deeds, former Deputy James Luckie, and District Attorney Ryan Sinclair in their personal capacities, and Hood County itself.
The Hood County Sheriff’s Office arrested Krottinger on November 5, 2025, for “online impersonation” in the third degree. He was released on a $10,000 bond that banned him from using social media. The arrest made national news, with many saying Krottinger was arrested for having posted a meme.
Krottinger’s attorneys wrote that the post in question was a “satirical political meme” that was posted by the Hood County Sheepdogs page on Facebook in early October. While Krottinger is the page operator, his attorneys wrote that one of the page administrators posted the meme, not himself. A month later, Hood County Justice of the Peace Earl Gillum “discharged the charge” against Krottinger, and on December 22, Ellis County District Attorney Lindy Beaty rejected prosecution due to “insufficient evidence.”
According to the lawsuit, the court appointed Beaty after DA Sinclair recused himself because he was on the board of Krottinger’s nonprofit mental health center, Anxiety Solutions of America. Attorneys Grable and Grisham wrote that this claim was “false,” stating that Sinclair had rejected an offer to serve on the board. They cited supporting statements from ASA President Andrea Jackson and board member Scott London, a Hood County constable.
Grable and Grisham wrote that Sinclair was involved in Krottinger’s “improper prosecution” and had only recused himself to escape accountability. But the attorneys pointed to Sheriff Deeds as “the driving force behind the investigation, arrest, and prosecution” of Krottinger, supervising then-Deputy Luckie’s investigation.
They also detailed that Luckie, who was widely reported to have resigned shortly after public criticism of Krottinger’s arrest, had conducted a deficient investigation that failed to prove Krottinger had even posted the meme. But even so, they wrote that “a reasonable officer would have known that arresting someone for posting a satirical political meme violates clearly established First Amendment rights.”
Grable and Grisham wrote that the timing of the prosecution of their client suggests a “coordinated effort to silence a political critic,” based on the timing of his arrest—a day after an election in which Krottinger was actively involved—and the “immediate imposition of a prior restraint on all social media.”
Krottinger’s attorneys are seeking relief for violations of their client’s rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. They also allege Hood County officials violated the U.S. Privacy Protection Act and the First and Fourth Amendments when they seized Krottinger’s cell phone, which he uses in his work as a journalist, without a warrant.
“This lawsuit sends a clear message,” Krottinger posted on social media. “The people will not be bullied, silenced, or intimidated by abuse of power. We see it. We remember it. And we will hold them accountable.”
Neither Sheriff Deeds, DA Sinclair, nor Hood County Judge Ron Massingil responded to a request for comment before publication.
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