After Texas Department of Public Safety officers arrested two individuals involved in Tuesday’s “transsurrection,” the Travis County attorney and district attorney have refused to prosecute.
The “transsurrection” protestors were opposing Senate Bill 14, which will protect children from being chemically and physically “transitioned” with puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and mutilative surgeries.
DPS released a statement to CBS Austin, stating, “Adriano K. Perez was arrested and transported to the Travis County Jail. Perez was charged with assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest and disrupting a public meeting.”
Adriano “Adri” Perez is a trans activist and organizing director for the Texas Freedom Network, which describes itself as “the state’s watchdog for monitoring far-right issues, organizations, money and leaders.”
Perez told CBS Austin that the “level of aggression shown by DPS at our state capitol yesterday is deeply disturbing.”
Rick Cofer, Perez’ apparent lawyer, says Perez was released by Travis County officials due to “insufficient evidence.”
DPS Capitol protest update: One person was arrested on two misdemeanors & one felony. The charges were reviewed by the County Attorney and District Attorney. All charges were rejected on the basis of insufficient evidence. The individual was released from jail before midnight.
— Rick Cofer (@rickcofer) May 3, 2023
Indeed, County Attorney Delia Garza and District Attorney Jose Garza have refused to prosecute.
During his 2020 campaign for district attorney, José Garza was backed by more than $400,000 in political ads paid for by the Texas Justice and Public Safety PAC, which has received millions in funding from liberal billionaire George Soros.
Garza campaigned on eliminating bail for nonviolent crimes, not prosecuting drug crimes involving less than a gram of an illegal substance, and holding police officers accountable for misconduct. During his tenure, a number of police officers have been indicted, and Austin residents have complained about increased crime and reduced police response times.
“These district attorneys have undermined the will of the Legislature and are destroying law enforcement agencies across our state,” testified Jennifer Szimanski, director of public affairs for the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), in a hearing about a measure to ensure district attorneys enforce state laws. “They’ve created an environment in which public safety is in jeopardy and criminals are free to victimize members of our community.”
Tuesday’s protestors were witnessed screaming at, spitting on, and shoving conservative activists, with one even exposing himself to House lawmakers from the gallery.
SB 14 has since been rescheduled for a vote on Friday.
