HATE HOAX: Ex-Biden appointee, Texas Dem candidate used fake social media accounts to make racist posts about himself: report

A former Biden appointee and current Texas Democrat candidate for a county commissioner was arrested on Wednesday after creating fake social media accounts to post racist comments pointed at himself.

GOP 3rd Precinct commissioner Andy Meyers requested that the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office (FBCDAO) investigate the source behind social media posts directed at Taral Patel, who is running against him in the race for the seat, an arrest affidavit stated.

Patel wrote in a Facebook post the previous month that "As your Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, I am always open to criticism of my policy positions and stances on issues. However, when my Republican opponents supporters’ [sic] decide to hurl racist, anti-immigrant, Hinduphobic, or otherwise disgusting insults at my family, faith community, colleagues, and me - that crosses a line."

"Fort Bend County’s diversity has made us all stronger and these hateful images (a small sample attached here) are from a place of deep and misguided feat - incited by people like former President Donald Trump and today’s extremist Republican party fear that immigrants are 'taking their jobs' and setting out to hurt our own communities."

Included in Patel’s post were screenshots of Facebook comments calling Patel a "dirty Pakistani," telling him to "learn English," and saying they will "never support an Indian or an Asian." 

The arrest affidavit stated that Meyers "recognized the username 'Antonio Scalywag,'" and that this account had previously made posts attacking Meyers prior to Patel entering the race. "Meyers stated that he had hired an investigator who was unable to locate anyone in Fort Bend County named Antonio Scalywag." 

One of the posts made by the account stated in part, "I am with Meyers ALL THE WAY … unlike Patel and his followers who worship Monkey and Elephant." 

Investigator Evett Kelley found the Facebook account and cross-referenced the profile picture, finding that the photo was used as a profile photo for Patrick Ernst, per the Fort Bend Inependent. Kelley contacted Ernst, who confirmed that he had a Facebook account and had previously been contacted by someone over Messenger stating that Ernst’s profile picture was being used by the Scalywag account. Kelley conducted an in-person interview with Ernst in February 2024. 

"Ernst told Affiant that the photo of him on Antonio Scalywag’s profile was obtained and used without his consent and that he considered the comments by Antonio Scalywag, using his photo, to be harmful to Ernst’s reputation." 

A subpoena was sent to Meta on February 13, 2024, seeking information on the account, which revealed an email registered to the Facebook account. In March Google was subpoenaed for information on the email address, which returned Patel’s identifying information. Also subpoenaed were JP Morgan Chase Bank and Comcast, which both returned information linked to Patel. 

On May 7, two search warrants were issued for the Gmail account and for the Facebook account. The Google search warrant revealed multiple accounts linked to Patel, and the Facebook account revealed that the Scalywag account uploaded the Ernst profile photo on October 20, 2022, from a mobile device using an IP address linked to Patel. 

"Affiant observed a series of direct messages to users, links to articles, and/or comments in 2023, challenging the qualifications of Democratic primary candidate, Abrahim Javed. Affiant observed a series of direct messages, posts, and/or comments in 2023 and 2024, that were both critical of Meyers and/or appeared to support Meyers using xenophobic language like the ones included in Taral Patel’s press release. Affiant also observed a message Antonio Scalywag sent to another user in August 2023, in which Scalywag represented that he was 'Precinct 3 Chairman for Andy Meyers.' In another direct message, Antonio Scalywag told another user he is working with the campaign of Democratic primary candidate Abrahim Javed and threatened to destroy the user if he 'interfere[d] in our campaign.'" 

Texas authorities arrested Patel for felony online impersonation in the third degree and a Class A misdemeanor charge for misrepresentation of identity. He was held in Fort Bend County Jail before posting the $20,000 bond for the felony charge and the $2,500 bond for the misdemeanor. He is next scheduled to appear in court on July 22. 

Patel’s campaign website stated that he was appointed by Biden to "serve in the Office of White House Liaison to work on matters related to housing, urban development, and disaster recovery and resilience." 

During his time with the President, Taral was also a key member of the White House Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (WHAANHPI) Committee." 

Patel previously served as the Chief of Staff for Fort Bend County, and worked "for the Department of Justice's Criminal Division in the Public Integrity Section, as the Deputy Finance Director for a Governor, and as a Legislative Staff member for the Texas House of Representatives focusing on the Transportation and Government Accountability and Transparency Committees." 

Among his endorsements are US Rep Joaquin Castro, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval. 

Patel Arrest Docs by Hannah Nightingale on Scribd