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Texas grandmother jailed in alleged political retaliation wins at Supreme Court

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Texas grandmother jailed in alleged political retaliation wins at Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a Texas ex-councilwoman who was thrown in jail in an act of political retaliation. 

Sylvia Gonzalez and her attorneys at the nonprofit Institute for Justice (IJ) sued Castle Hills Mayor JR Trevino and other officials, alleging they plotted to remove her from office as retaliation for criticizing the city manager, thereby violating her First Amendment rights. 

A Fifth Circuit court tossed her case, saying she didn’t present required evidence to advance a “retaliatory-arrest” case that would show others had not been arrested after engaging in similar conduct. She had been arrested for allegedly trying to remove a document from a city council meeting that she claimed she did not realize she had in the first place, and the charges were eventually dropped. 

The Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the Fifth Circuit’s decision, finding that Gonzalez’s research showing that the statute under which she had been charged had never been used in her county to prosecute someone for “trying to steal a nonbinding or expressive document” was sufficient to support her claim. The Fifth Circuit, in ruling against her, said she needed more.

“That court thought Gonzalez had to provide very specific comparator evidence — that is, examples of identifiable people who ‘mishandled a government petition’ in the same way Gonzalez did but were not arrested,” the Supreme Court said in an unsigned opinion, adding that “the demand for virtually identical and identifiable comparators goes too far.”

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SUPREME COURT HEARS CASE OF TEXAS GRANDMOTHER THROWN IN JAIL AFTER CRITICIZING CITY GOVERNMENT

Castle Hills, Texas, police arrested then-Councilwoman Sylvia Gonzalez in July 2019 on a rarely used charge of tampering with a public document. (Courtesy Institute for Justice)

Gonzalez’s story began in 2019, when constituents had complained that the city manager, Ryan Rapelye, was unresponsive, particularly to their concerns over the condition of their streets. 

As soon as she was elected, Gonzalez championed a nonbinding petition calling for the city manager to be replaced with a previous manager who residents felt had done a better job. Another resident introduced the petition at Gonzalez’s first city council meeting. Discussion of the manager’s job performance “grew contentious,” according to court records, and the meeting was extended through the following day.

At the end of the meeting, Gonzalez said she straightened up the papers strewn across her dais and put them in her binder before going to talk to a constituent.

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A police officer interrupted the conversation, telling Gonzalez that Trevino wanted to speak with her, according to court documents. Gonzalez went back to the dais and Trevino asked where the petition was. Gonzalez said she didn’t know. Trevino allegedly asked her to look in her binder, saying he could see a clip inside.

Indeed, the petition was in the binder, so Gonzalez handed it over and thought nothing of it. But two months later, she learned from a neighbor that there was a warrant out for her arrest.

“I didn’t even know what I was accused of,” Gonzalez, a 72-year-old grandmother, told Fox News. “I’d never been in jail… and it was very scary to an old lady like me.”

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“I’d never been in jail… and it was very scary to an old lady like me,” Sylvia Gonzalez told Fox News Digital. (Institute for Justice)

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Trevino and Police Chief John Siemens used the briefly displaced petition to launch a criminal investigation into Gonzalez, her lawsuit alleges. Three weeks into the investigation, the police chief assigned a “trusted friend and local attorney” to take over as a “special detective,” according to Gonzalez’s complaint.

The special detective produced an arrest affidavit alleging that Gonzalez had “been openly antagonistic” toward the city manager from her first meeting, “wanting desperately to get him fired.” The affidavit also accused Gonzalez of misleading a woman by “telling her several fabrications” about Rapelye in order to get her signature, according to court documents.

Detectives found probable cause to believe Gonzalez stole her own petition when she put it in her binder with other papers, violating a Texas ban on intentionally removing or destroying government records, according to court documents from the defendants.

RANCHERS SAY THE STATE FLOODED THEIR LANDS, KILLING ANIMALS. THE SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE IF TEXAS HAS TO PAY

Sprinklers water the lawn in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 29. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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The statute is usually used in cases involving fake Social Security numbers, forgeries of official checks and counterfeit green cards, Institute for Justice senior counsel Anya Bidwell said. IJ looked at 10 years of Bexar County data and couldn’t find “anything even remotely similar” to Gonzalez’s case, she added.

Rather than seek a summons for the nonviolent misdemeanor, the special detective took the unusual step of asking for an arrest warrant, the lawsuit contends. The special detective also went straight to a district court judge, circumventing the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

“They wanted to punish me, and they wanted to make sure I went to jail. And they did a good job,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez turned herself in, was handcuffed, spent the day sitting in jail and had her mugshot splashed across the evening news. Even though the DA’s office dropped the charge, her brief political career was over.

Gonzalez sued Trevino, Siemens, special detective Alexander Wright and the city in 2020, alleging they deprived her of her rights under the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

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“This is a great day for the First Amendment and Sylvia Gonzalez, who has courageously fought against retaliatory actions by government officials,” Bidwell said.

“The Supreme Court’s revision of its First Amendment retaliation doctrine ensures that Americans can seek justice when they have evidence of a retaliatory arrest. Retaliatory arrests undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and this ruling helps safeguard the rights of all Americans to speak out without fear of retribution,” Bidwell said. 

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Austin bar shooting bodycam released as DA makes major call about cops who shot suspected terrorist

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Austin bar shooting bodycam released as DA makes major call about cops who shot suspected terrorist

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Bodycam video from the Austin mass shooting, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack, was released on Thursday as the county’s liberal district attorney announced he would take no action against the three officers who killed the suspect.

In 911 audio released by the Austin Police Department along with the bodycam video, one individual told the operator that he “heard like six gunshots.”

“We’re hiding between cars,” the caller said. “There has been a shooting at Buford’s on 6th St. There are people dead over here. There have been multiple people shot. We need help right now.”

In one surveillance video released by police, the shooter, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, can be seen walking around a parking lot with an AR-15 before opening fire on someone nearby.

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53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne killed three people and injured over a dozen more people, Austin police said. (Austin Police Department)

Officers can be seen in bodycam video directing bystanders to get down before opening fire on Diagne, who was killed.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced Wednesday that no action would be taken against the three police officers who killed Diagne. Diagne shot and killed three people and left more than a dozen other people injured on Sunday outside a bar in Austin, Texas.

“Today, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office notified the Austin Police Department that it has formally concluded its review of the mass shooting on 6th Street and will take no action against the three officers who stopped the shooting,” the news release stated.

Under a 2021 policy by Garza’s office, all officer-involved shooting cases were to be presented to a grand jury.

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Bodaycam footage shows the night of a shooting in Austin, Texas. (KTBC)

District Attorney Jose Garza speaks at a news conference on Feb. 19, 2026. (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

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Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told Fox News Digital he wishes Garza would have made the decision to not convene a grand jury much earlier, and said police officers are under constant fear of being targeted by the liberal district attorney.

“The reality is APD officers are more afraid of the DA targeting them than a gunman shooting at them,” Bullock told Fox News Digital.

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Shooter approaches a bar with a rifle in Austin, Texas. (KTBC)

Police officers guard the scene after a shooting on March 1, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Bullock said it’s the first time Garza hasn’t presented an officer-involved shooting to a grand jury since implementing the policy.

Doug O’Connell, a criminal defense attorney representing the Austin police officers, told Fox News the 2021 policy was instituted at the direction of the Wren Collective, which is a criminal-justice reform group providing financial support to progressive prosecutors.

“When our current district attorney came into office about six years ago, he instituted this policy at the direction of the Wren Collective, and it’s been in place since that time. Every officer-involved shooting has been presented to the grand jury,” O’Connell said. “It’s not required by law. It is simply a policy decision that he’s instituted at the direction of Wren Collective.”

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Bullock said the Wren Collective has recently pushed “to increase the number of indictments against officers which can only be done through grand jury.”

TEXAS DA SAYS NO CHARGES FOR POLICE IN TERROR ATTACK RESPONSE, AMID CRITICISM OF MANDATORY GRAND JURY REVIEW

The Austin Police Department released a photo of Ndiaga Diagne as the suspect tied to Sunday’s mass shooting. (Austin Police Department)

National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith told Fox News Digital that investigations into officer-involved shootings should be internal. 

“A grand jury is basically a secret process and is controlled by the prosecutor. These officers cannot have a defense attorney or a union representative in the grand jury,” Smith said. “He is well known as one of the most anti-police district attorneys in the nation.”

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Garza previously called the officers that killed Diagne “heroes.” The shooting happened at Austin’s Buford’s Backyard Beer garden shortly before 2 a.m. on Sunday.

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Federal agents comb the scene of a potential terrorist attack in Austin, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Getty Images)

FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran said during a press conference on Sunday that while investigators are still looking for a possible motive, there were “indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism.”

Law enforcement sources told Fox News that the shooter was wearing a sweatshirt that read “Property of Allah as well as an undershirt with an Iranian flag. The sources said a Quran was also found in Diagne’s car. According to CBS News, Diagne had pictures of Iranian leaders at his home as well as an Iranian flag.

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Savitha Shan, 21, Ryder Harrington, 19 and Jorge Pederson, 30, were killed in the shooting, authorities said during a Monday press conference.

Diagne initially entered the United States in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa, according to the Department of Homeland Security, becoming a lawful permanent resident in 2006 after marrying a U.S. citizen.

On April 5, 2013, Diagne became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

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The Austin Police Department and the FBI investigate a shooting at Buford’s on West 6th Street in Austin on March 1, 2026. (Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said Diagne “put his flashers on, rolled down his window and began using a pistol shooting out of his car windows, striking patrons of the bar that were on the patio and that were in front of the bar.”

Davis said the suspect exited his vehicle and shot at individuals, but didn’t enter the bar.

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GOP Rep Tony Gonzales admits to affair with former aide for first time

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GOP Rep Tony Gonzales admits to affair with former aide for first time

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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-TALK (8255).

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, admitted to having an affair with a former staffer for the first time on Wednesday.

Gonzales made the confession during an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, just one day after he advanced to a runoff election in his congressional district’s GOP primary. The House Ethics Committee also launched an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday.

“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” he said on “The Joe Pags Show” Wednesday night. “Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.”

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“When you make mistakes like this, it’s never easy. It humbles you,” he added.

Regina Santos-Aviles, a staffer for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, died Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Uvalde, Texas. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Regina Santos-Aviles Facebook)

The Ethics Committee is investigating whether Gonzales, a married father of six, engaged in sexual misconduct with a female member of his staff and whether he doled out special favors or privileges as a result.

Gonzales has said he has no plan to step down in the face of the accusations, saying last month that there are more details to be released regarding the situation.

“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales told reporters in late February.

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REP TONY GONZALES HIT WITH HOUSE ETHICS PROBE OVER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, has denied having anything to do with his former staffer’s death. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The three-term congressman argued at the time that he was being “blackmailed” in connection with the case. Controversy first arose after the San Antonio Express-News reported they obtained text messages in which the former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the lawmaker.

Santos-Aviles later died after setting herself on fire.

Gonzales denied having anything to do with her death during his radio appearance.

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NANCY MACE TO FORCE VOTE TARGETING FELLOW GOP LAWMAKER ACCUSED OF AFFAIR WITH STAFFER

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I hadn’t spoken with Miss Santos since June of 2024. She passed September of 2025… I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said. 

Gonzales took to social media last month and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of “blackmail,” sharing a partial screenshot of an email from the widower and claiming he was seeking money.

“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales wrote in a Feb. 19 post on X. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.”

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In the email posted by Gonzales, attorney Robert Barrera discussed a possible lawsuit against the lawmaker and a potential settlement with a nondisclosure agreement. The email says that the maximum recoverable amount is $300,000.

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Barrera denied he was trying to blackmail Gonzales.

“It is a desperate attempt to make him look again like a political victim,” Barrera told The Associated Press last month. “There’s no blackmail here. I mean, it’s just ridiculous allegations.”

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Nancy Guthrie’s abductor may have returned to the crime scene, left critical clues at tribute: expert

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Nancy Guthrie’s abductor may have returned to the crime scene, left critical clues at tribute: expert

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TUCSON, Ariz. — As a growing memorial outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson-area home continues to draw visitors, new questions are emerging about whether investigators are monitoring the site. 

Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home in the early hours of Feb. 1.

“They could [have eyes on the memorial], we’re just not seeing it,” Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association and a retired police sergeant, tells Fox News Digital. “They could be keeping track of it, but we’re not seeing the cameras.”

Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home on Feb. 1. (Getty Images)

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Yellow flowers, handwritten notes, artwork and even an open letter addressed to the “kidnapper” have been left at the makeshift tribute in front of her home.

While the memorial grows, however, visible law enforcement presence has significantly dropped.

“Detectives are reviewing all viable leads in this case,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital. “We do not speak to specifics, as this is still an ongoing investigation.”

Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, vehicle or any persons of interest.

MULTIPLE SUSPECTS ARE POSSIBLE IN NANCY GUTHRIE’S ABDUCTION

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Haunting Nest doorbell camera video shows a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s front steps around the time of her abduction. He is described as being of average height and build and was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.

“In this type of situation where you have the potential for a suspect having done this because he or she is somehow obsessed with Savannah Guthrie or seeing Nancy featured on the ‘Today’ show multiple times… someone who is obsessed with notoriety, celebrity — there’s a lot of pathology involved in that,” Brantner Smith said.

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A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s office was seen outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

“Potentially, that is the type of person that could come back to the memorial, look at the memorial, even take photos of the memorial and add to the memorial themselves.”

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As to why there’s been an alleged lack of law enforcement presence monitoring the site, Brantner Smith pointed to one likely scenario.

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“It may be because they have solid suspects, and they just haven’t released that information to the public,” she said. 

It’s not uncommon for an offender to return to the crime scene, she added.

A growing vigil in the morning light under cloudy skies is seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on February 13, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo)

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“Sometimes the offender will come back to the scene of the crime. So, in that vein, they would come to the memorial, and they may have left their own note, their own flowers,” she said.

Often, it’s a mark of their arrogance, she told Fox News Digital.

“I am guessing that the suspect or suspects who did this are frankly taking great pride in the fact that so far they’ve got away with it,” she added. “Coming back can also be a way to bring back that rush that they had when they originally committed the crime.”

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Such behavior happens frequently in arson cases, she said. 

Deputies examine a flyer taped to Nancy Guthrie’s mailbox on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. They were called to the scene after volunteer searchers and several streamers walked onto Guthrie’s property with a shovel. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

“But it’s also not untypical in a homicide case or, in this case, a missing person,” she continued. “We’ve got to look at the psychology of people who do this kind of stuff. They also may want to come back to see what kind of people are leaving notes and leaving flowers.”

For that reason, she said, investigators should be reading the notes to develop potential leads.

“They’re coming back to see the impact that they had on this neighborhood and on this family,” she said. “And the rest of us would view that as very sick, but law enforcement has to view that as a way to collect clues.”

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Savannah, her sister Annie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, placed flowers at the growing tribute near the foot of Nancy’s driveway on Monday in a somber visit to the crime scene.

Annie Guthrie, her husband Tommaso Cioni, and Savannah Guthrie at their missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s home on Monday, March 2, in Tucson, Arizona. (Fox News)

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A combined reward for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery from the FBI, local authorities and the Guthrie family stands at over $1 million. It has not yet been claimed.

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Savannah is asking anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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