Civil rights attorney Melissa Malonson emptied her desk at the downtown Dallas office of the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday morning, stuffing her life’s work into cardboard boxes.

Malonson, who worked for the department for 25 years, packed planners, textbooks and certificates. In one box, a crayon drawing from her daughter was tucked next to a framed certificate marking ten years of service with the Education Department from 2009.

She walked out of the office at 1201 Elm St. for the last time with about two dozen supporters — mostly other federal employees — cheering for her.

Malonson, 51, burst into tears. Her aunt hugged her and said, “We got you. We got you.”

Malonson was one of more than 4,000 federal employees laid off in March when the Education Department eliminated six of its regional offices, including Dallas.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the department shortly after. That order is being challenged in court.

“Students and parents are the ones that are going to suffer,” Malonson said. “The bulk of what we do is help disabled kids.”

The department’s Office of Civil Rights enforces federal laws that protect students against discrimination. It responds to complaints based on race, disability, age and national origin discrimination, among others.

Texas has more than a thousand cases under review at OCR. More than half are related to students with disabilities whose families reported concerns about improper restraint, harassment, denial of benefits, challenges to accessing free and appropriate education, and more.

As a lawyer for the department, Malonson helped make schools more accessible for children with disabilities by investigating claims and working with school system leaders to implement changes.

That included adapting playgrounds and ensuring school personnel carried insulin when going on field trips with students who have diabetes, she said.

The now former employees of the Dallas office are unsure who will tackle its most fundamental work, including handling civil rights complaints for students with disabilities and managing student financial aid.

Trump said at the order signing that much of the department’s work would go to states or other federal agencies. The move is part of his effort to downsize and streamline the federal government. For example, the administration previously announced hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to contracts with the Department of Education.

Before closing, those working for the Office for Civil Rights in the Dallas office investigated cases across Texas and in other southern states.

People have emailed Malonson in recent weeks, asking about the status of their civil rights complaints, she said. Malonson doesn’t know where those cases will go now.

Department of Education officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment over email.

Former staffers worry that civil rights investigations, which often take months or years to complete, will stall under the cuts. Families were frustrated with the delays even before Trump’s administration eliminated several regional offices.

Cynthia Thornton spent 17 years at the office working on getting financial aid into the hands of students so they could attend college.

When she walked into the building to turn in her laptop and a company credit card Tuesday, she wondered who would make sure “students get the money they deserve.”

“I just hope the administration will continue to advocate for the students and not let predatory and proprietary lenders and schools take advantage of students,” Thornton said. “It’s in the administration’s hands.”

Malonson thought about how being an attorney for the department was her first job after graduating from law school at the University of Texas at Austin in 1999.

Born and raised in Carrollton, she worked her way up from general attorney to supervisor attorney.

On Tuesday, she pulled out a photograph with a mentor who guided her during her first years from her boxes of belongings. It brought her to tears.

“This was my career,” she said. “This was my dream job, and I was really good at it, too.”

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism, Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.

A Dallas man whose Tesla Model X was vandalized in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport parking lot is suing the vandal for more than $1 million.

The suspect, Rafael Hernandez, was arrested March 22 on a criminal mischief charge by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office after he was recorded by the Tesla’s built-in cameras striking the left side of the electric-powered vehicle.

The victim, who is choosing to remain anonymous, was traveling when his Tesla was damaged in the airport parking lot. In the footage obtained by Fox, Hernandez can be seen pulling an object out of his pocket and forcing it into the side of the Model X. 

The Tesla owner told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the “motives were wrong, and [Hernandez’s] acts were intentional — it is for a judge and jury to decide, based on the facts, what his punishment should be. I believe strongly that I was targeted because my car is a Tesla. I didn’t even realize that this nationwide Tesla attack was even a thing — until I was thrown into that world. What’s important to me is that it happened, it was intentional, and it was wrong. As a result, I’ve been thrown into a nightmare, and I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

ELON MUSK TORCHES DEMOCRATS FOR BEING ‘REAL VILLAINS’ OF TESLA VANDALISM, BLAMES LEFT-WING PROPAGANDA

Fox News Digital reached out to the attorney representing Hernandez, but he could not be reached for comment. 

The lawsuit filed by the victim outlines “Individual owners of Tesla vehicles, like Plaintiff, are being targeted and victimized by ongoing criminal conduct and action. This has culminated in the ‘Tesla Takedown’ movement, where certain activists are urging consumers to divest from Tesla products and are organizing protests and other activities that are explicitly or implicitly urging physical damage and/or violence against Tesla owners and/or their Tesla vehicles. Plaintiff recently became a target and victim of this criminal conduct and action.”

One outspoken voice of the “Tesla Takedown” movement, Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told attendees at a virtual rally earlier this month that the Department of Government Efficiency head and Tesla founder Elon Musk must be “taken down.”

VANDAL STRIKES CYBERTRUCK, TESLA OWNER HITS BACK

The victim’s attorney, Majed Nachawati, right, spoke with Fox News Digital about the incident. (Fox News)

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered at more than 500 Tesla locations worldwide in a “Global Day of Action” to protest the Musk-founded car company. 

In an interview, Majed Nachawati, the attorney representing the Dallas-based Tesla owner in the lawsuit, told Fox News Digital that owning a car shouldn’t be political. “Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, this is a free country. You’re entitled to drive whatever you want, as long as it’s legal and within the confines of the law, and you should feel safe and secure in doing so, which, in my opinion, is why the authorities on the law enforcement side are taking these cases very seriously.” 

WATCH THE INTERVIEW WITH THE ATTORNEY:

Nachawati went on to explain the importance of consequences for those vandalizing the vehicles, saying “It’s a slippery slope, where does it end? Right? Fortunately, you know, my client’s car was keyed. He wasn’t injured himself, and he wasn’t in the vehicle. But others haven’t been so lucky, and so if this continues, you know, it’s a fine line between having a civil society and chaos.”

MAN ARRESTED IN MOLOTOV COCKTAIL ATTACK AT TESLA SHOP IN LAS VEGAS WILL ALSO FACE FEDERAL CHARGES

FBI Director Kash Patel, who recently launched a task force to crack down on violent attacks against the car brand, warned Tesla dealerships and owners to “exercise vigilance and look out for suspicious activity” ahead of this past weekend’s widespread protests.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office, but they could not be reached for comment.

One man is charged with arson after allegedly lighting his apartment on fire, causing damage to seven others, according to the Dallas Fire Department.

First responders were called to reports of a building fire at noon on Sunday at the two-story Koko Apartments on 2209 Empire Central Drive.

Officials said responders saw smoke from the apartment complex and extinguished a fire discovered on the second floor.

According to the Dallas FD, while fire damage was limited to the original apartment, seven other apartments sustained smoke and water damage. Four residents were displaced and moved to temporary apartments within the same complex.

Officials said investigators discovered the fire was intentionally set by 51-year-old Zerick Jones, a Koko Apartment resident.

Jones suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries after jumping from his apartment window and was taken to a local hospital.

Authorities did not release what evidence led to Jones’ arrest or his potential motive.

He is charged with felony arson, intended to damage a habitat or place of worship, and has a bond of $25,000.

It’s unclear if Jones has legal representation at this time.