A political activist was in court this week fighting a defamation lawsuit filed against him by a politician he publicly criticized, and the outcome could have broader First Amendment implications.
Paul Chabot, who created the website “FireFrazier.com,” appeared in a Collin County courtroom Monday and asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against him by State Rep. Frederick Frazier (R–McKinney).
Frazier did not appear in court.
The freshman lawmaker lost his re-election bid in the May primary runoff. He sued Chabot in June, blaming his loss on what he called “false claims” and “defamatory” statements made by Chabot on his website, social media posts, and campaign signs.
The website documents criminal behavior that Frazier eventually admitted to. Ironically, the crimes involved campaign signs belonging to Chabot, one of Frazier’s 2022 Republican primary rivals.
Chabot has asserted that Frazier’s complaint is an attempt to silence First Amendment-protected criticism of public officials.
At the Collin County Courthouse on Monday, attorneys for both sides argued before visiting Judge Jim Pruitt over whether the suit should be dismissed or allowed to proceed to discovery.
Judge Pruitt was assigned to the case after other district judges in Collin County recused themselves due to the politics involved.
“Chabot was the victim of Frazier’s crimes, but he seeks to victimize Chabot again in pursuit of a frivolous claim of defamation,” Chabot’s attorney, Tony McDonald, told the judge.
McDonald argued that Frazier’s lawsuit should be dismissed under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), which protects citizens from lawsuits intended to silence or punish them for speaking out on matters of public concern.
As Frazier is an elected public servant subject to public criticism, McDonald said there is “no dispute” that the TCPA applies to the case.
That places the burden on Frazier to prove defamation.
McDonald claimed that Frazier did not make his case because Chabot’s allegedly defamatory statements were substantially true.
Frazier’s attorney, Chris Kratovil, argued that Chabot’s statements about Frazier being “convicted” of crimes and “dishonorably discharged” from the Dallas Police Department were “once true” but that “things changed.”
Kratovil had revised Frazier’s complaint to focus on those two specific statements—“convicted” and “dishonorably discharged”—made by Chabot after he received a “cease and desist” letter dated May 9.
Frazier was indicted in June 2022 on two felony counts of impersonating a public servant. In December 2023, Judge Pruitt reduced those charges to misdemeanors and granted Frazier deferred adjudication for one year. At the same time, Frazier pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.
Also, in December, Frazier resigned from his job as a Dallas police officer. He received a dishonorable discharge because he was under investigation due to the criminal charges against him.
In April of this year, ahead of the primary runoff election, Pruitt granted Frazier an early release from his one-year probation. Frazier then petitioned to have his discharge status changed from “dishonorable” to “general,” which falls between dishonorable and honorable.
According to Kratovil, that made any further statements by Chabot claiming that Frazier was “convicted” or “dishonorably discharged” no longer true and thus defamatory.
“All he had to do was shut up” after Frazier’s legal status changed, Kratovil told the judge on Monday.
McDonald noted that Chabot had asked the issuing agency to confirm the change in Frazier’s discharge status but was told it was “confidential.”
Still, Kratovil argued that Chabot “should have known” and therefore showed “reckless disregard” when continuing to describe Frazier as having been “dishonorably discharged.”
McDonald said that the very website Frazier complains about provides context and documentation for Chabot’s claims, and the “gist” remains substantially true.
“The First Amendment doesn’t punish people for stating substantially true things,” he added. “If this case is allowed to proceed, who is Frazier going to sue next?”
Judge Pruitt has 30 days to decide whether to dismiss the lawsuit or let it proceed.
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