A Hood County jury has acquitted Eva Royer of election fraud. City officials reportedly colluded to have her arrested, claiming the address listed as her primary residence on election forms to run for Granbury City Council was incorrect.
Judge Richard Hattox stated that he is “not proud of what happened” to Royer, but that America is a free country and that she is now free.
Background
As previously reported, Royer filed to run for Granbury City Council in 2024, using a Granbury address. She had reportedly acted on the advice of Granbury Mayor Jim Jarratt, who recruited her to run. Royer is well known in the community for her conservative activism and philanthropy as a real estate agent.
After filing to run, Royer was notified by City Secretary Carla Walker that her residency at this address was being disputed and that the Granbury City Council would need to hold a meeting to settle the matter.
Royer subsequently withdrew her application before a meeting was held. Rather than that being the end of the story, Granbury city officials—who are Royer’s political opponents—sought to prosecute her for election fraud.
In April 2025, Royer was arrested by the Granbury Police Department on one count of perjury, a state jail felony, and election fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. She posted bond and was released the following day.
Rob Christian, Royer’s attorney, went to great lengths to acquire the evidence necessary for his client’s defense, but city officials repeatedly failed to comply with court orders compelling them to turn over information. This almost led Hood County Court at Law Judge Richard Hattox to dismiss the case before trial.
The trial began on Tuesday with the prosecution calling its first witnesses. It would finish up on Wednesday before moving on to Royer’s witnesses.
Investigating Eva Royer
Called to the stand was Lieutenant Russel Grizzard, who investigated Royer. He revealed that Granbury Chief of Police Mitch Galvan had personally asked him to investigate the matter. Given his position, Grizzard is only asked to investigate cases of importance.
After reviewing evidence of Royer’s vehicle consistently entering and exiting her then-boyfriend Tim Bolton’s community in Pecan Plantation, Grizzard determined that she must live there. Christian asked Grizzard if these records would be consistent with somebody frequently staying over with their boyfriend, to which he replied, “Not in my opinion.” He later amended his response, claiming that it “could be possible.”
Christian exposed that Grizzard had never interviewed Bolton to determine Royer’s residency, nor did he look inside her Granbury home to determine whether the setup was consistent with somebody maintaining a residency there.
Grizzard’s explanation for not interviewing Bolton was that he would be a biased source that he couldn’t trust to tell the truth. Christian pointed out that the same is true of almost everybody Grizzard interviews in the course of his duty.
His investigation also rested on evidence that Royer had listed her Granbury address for short-term rentals. When asked whether an individual could maintain their residence while renting it out about 15 percent of the time, Grizzard said it was “very unlikely in my mind.” Again, he later amended his response, claiming it is “possible.”
Grizzard’s investigation had pointed out that Royer had not filed for a homestead exemption at her Granbury address, though he reasoned she surely would have if it were her primary residence. Christian pointed out that Royer had purchased the property under her LLC, making her ineligible for a homestead exemption. Grizzard acknowledged that he did not know this.
Regarding a previous homestead exemption Royer had on a Dallas address she owned personally, Grizzard did not know that individuals are allowed to move away for two years under certain restrictions while maintaining their homestead exemption.
Grizzard acknowledged that it would have been good to know these things, but that his investigation was nonetheless conducted with honest intentions.
He had requested a warrant for Royer’s arrest at the conclusion of his investigation, which led to her criminal prosecution.
Political Persecution?
Tim Bolton was then called to the stand as the prosecution’s witness. Because of the well-established potential for city officials to go after him for something said in court, Judge Hattox read him his Fifth Amendment rights before he took the stand.
Bolton detailed his relationship history with Royer, and explained how she maintained her residence in Dallas as office space and did “a bit of cohabitation” with him in Pecan Plantation—all while maintaining her permanent residence at the Granbury address since 2021.
He explained that she had registered to vote at his address because they didn’t know where the relationship would go, but her driver’s license always reflected her Granbury address.
Before Royer filed to run for city council, Bolton explained that they had sought the advice of Mayor Jarratt. Text messages revealed Royer asking Jarratt whether it was problematic that her voter registration and driver’s license had different addresses, and he emphatically encouraged her to run.
Once the city secretary notified Royer that her address was being disputed, Bolton advised Royer to withdraw her application. He explained that the other side plays dirty, and he didn’t want her to be subjected to what Hood County Commissioner Dave Eagle has faced for seven years.
Bolton stated that the Hood County Republican party is united, but that there are “laymen” with “tribal loyalties” who are not a part of the party. He added that “we’re in the room today because they’re still engaging in dirty politics.”
This prompted County Attorney Matthew Mills to ask whether Bolton really believed the whole trial was about taking down his tribe. Bolton calmly replied, “Well I’m glad you asked me that question … yes.”
Mills asked Bolton how it was possible for Royer to maintain her residence in Granbury while having an office in Dallas and staying with him in Pecan Plantation. Bolton responded, “Your own evidence shows that it is true and we did it.”
Mills then rephrased the question to ask whether it could be done honestly. To this, Bolton replied, “I’m an honest man and I’m attesting to it under oath.”
Because Mills had opened the door to talking about dirty politics, Christian took full advantage to expose the corruption behind Royer’s prosecution.
He explained that during the school bond fights of 2023 and 2024, Jim Lilly—Bolton’s opponent for GOP precinct chair—was caught stealing anti-bond yard signs that were designed and Apple AirTagged by Bolton. City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle represented Lilly in his criminal prosecution.
While the case was ongoing, SoRelle was involved in a group text with Grizzard, Galvan, and City Manager Chris Coffman. The messages revealed SoRelle telling the others that he had heard Bolton accompanied Royer to the notary in Pecan Plantation when filing her application. He pointed out that Bolton could be held criminally responsible for aiding her, stating, “My thought is that if we are going on this we go all the way, but leave it to your discretion.”
Grizzard had told the court that he had not thought to investigate Bolton until SoRelle made this argument, but that there was not enough evidence to bring a case against him. Upon seeing the messages, Bolton said he felt targeted and was surprised by the lengths to which city officials were going after him.
Mills objected to this evidence, claiming it was irrelevant to the trial. Judge Hattox refuted Mills, chuckling and telling him that he had “kicked the door wide open” with his line of questioning.
Christian Rests His Case
Before calling his witnesses, Christian asked Hattox for a directed verdict—which is when a judge directs a jury to decide a case in favor of a specific side, due to the other party’s lack of sufficient evidence. Hattox decided to let the jury make its own decision, but said, “I see what’s going on here. And the jury sees what’s going on here.”
Christian then surprised the court by stating that he rested his case, meaning he would not call any of the witnesses who had shown up at the courthouse to testify. He believed he had presented more than enough evidence in cross-examination to stunt the prosecution’s case.
Many of the activists in attendance had hoped to hear from Coffman and former commissioner’s court candidate Brad Yarborough to expose additional accusations of corruption, but as Christian stated during a pre-trial hearing, his goal was not to expose corruption but to defend Royer.
Closing Arguments
During his closing argument, Mills told the jury that Christian’s evidence of collusion was a distraction from the fact that Royer committed election fraud in broad daylight.
Mills asserted that Royer cannot simultaneously claim that her permanent residence is in Granbury in one legal document and Pecan Plantation in another, as the two are mutually exclusive. He told the jury that if Christian had any affirmative evidence of Royer living in Granbury, he would have called his witnesses and the court would have heard it.
Christian began his closing argument by telling the jury that any time a prosecutor attempts to shift the burden of proof onto the defendant, that should be a red flag that they know they are losing the case.
He emphasized that the jury is not charged with deciding Royer’s residency, but whether she knowingly and intentionally lied on her filing. He pointed to the fact that Royer consulted the mayor about her confusing situation to ensure she qualified, to which he encouraged her to file.
Christian asserted that “if not for political nastiness,” nobody would know about this situation. He pointed out that the trial has lasted longer than the time between when Royer filed her application and withdrew it, and that the case has been hanging over her head for two years while wasting taxpayer resources.
Having previously served as Hood County District Attorney for 17 years, Christian said that although the politics of Hood County were bad then, it is 100 times worse now. Christian knew Chief Galvan then and said that seeing him “wrapped up in this political garbage” while refusing to take responsibility for the culture of the Granbury Police Department “breaks my heart.”
Christian concluded by stating that he is glad the case went to trial, as it is an opportunity for the jury to send a message that enough is enough.
Mills concluded by asking the jury whether they wanted to be “governed by frauds”—referring to Royer as such, should she have been elected to city council.
The Verdict
Judge Hattox reminded the jury that the State bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Royer intentionally and knowingly committed election fraud. For a conviction, they must come to a unanimous decision.
After deliberation, the jury found Royer not guilty.
Hattox told the court that he is not proud of what happened to Royer and does not like much of what he saw during the trial, but that this is a free country and she is now free from the charges. He emphasized that the system works, as it worked in her favor.
Mills was not present when the verdict was read on Wednesday.
However, according to the Hood County Express, Mills defended the case Thursday morning before later deleting the Facebook post and hiding his campaign page.
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