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A Collin County district court dismissed charges against state Rep. Frederick Frazier on Friday after the McKinney Republican pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of impersonating a public servant. The court also granted an early release from community supervision, which resulted in the dismissal as part of Frazier’s deferred adjudication.

In December, Frazier pleaded no contest to the two criminal charges, part of a plea agreement stemming from allegations he targeted his primary runoff opponent’s campaign signs over a year ago. Frazier accepted a year of probation and a maximum $4,000 fine for each offense.

Earlier this month, Frazier’s lawyer filed an application for early release and dismissal of charges. On Friday, Judge Jim Pruitt granted that request, a little over four months after Frazier entered the no contest plea. The order comes one month before Frazier’s primary runoff election against Keresa Richardson for a Republican-friendly seat in northern Collin County outside Dallas.

In December, while accepting Frazier’s no contest plea, Pruitt wrote, “Court finds that the evidence and Defendant’s plea substantiates the Defendant’s guilt of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt as charged in the indictment.”

He has separately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.

Frazier was indicted in June 2022, in which he was accused of impersonating a McKinney city code enforcement employee on two occasions instructing people to “remove campaign signage.”

The campaign signs belonged to his opponent in the 2022 Republican primary for House District 61, Paul Chabot. In his first run for the House, Frazier had the backing of former President Donald Trump. Chabot lost that race.

Chabot told The Texas Tribune that the judge’s order on Friday took him by surprise. He had intended to provide a victim impact statement at the end of the year, when Frazier was scheduled to complete his community supervision.

On Friday, Frazier announced on social media that the judge had dismissed his case. He said his legal troubles had given him appreciation for Trump, who is facing four criminal cases in which he is accused of election interference, mishandling classified documents and falsifying business records.

“I cannot compare my situation to Donald Trump’s, who has been hounded by radical Democrats with little or no proof,” Frazier said. “It gave me a small taste of what President Trump faces now.”

Frazier’s campaign did not return a request for comment as of Friday evening.

Frazier represents House District 61, a Republican-friendly seat in northern Collin County outside Dallas.

Gov. Greg Abbott backed Frazier during his reelection campaign as part of a blanket endorsement of dozens of House Republicans who sided with Abbott in favor of school vouchers.

Frazier is among the dozens of House Republicans that Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to defeat after the House impeached him on abuse-of-office allegations in May. The Senate acquitted Paxton in September.

Richardson, his opponent in the May 28 runoff, said his legal problems weren’t the reason she entered the race, but rather it was his performance in the Texas House that pushed her to challenge Frazier. Richardson won 40% of the votes; Frazier won 32% of the votes.

“We’ll let the people decide who they would rather have in the House,” Richardson told The Texas Tribune on Friday. “It’s up to the constituents.”

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AUSTIN — After an extra day of waiting, Texas Longhorns receiverAdonai Mitchell is finally off the board.

The Indianapolis Colts selected Mitchell with pick No. 52 in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit on Friday. Mitchell slipped out of the first round on Day 1 and instead had to watch as teammates Byron Murphy II and Xavier Worthy got selected by the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.

However, the real surprise came on Day 2 when Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was selected before Mitchell at No. 38 overall by the Tennessee Titans.

Severe storms are brewing across Texas throughout the weekend, potentially unleashing tornadoes and sizable hail.

The storms are mainly predicted for North Texas and some areas of Central Texas, as part of a broader weather system moving across the eastern half of the U.S.

Here’s what we know about this weekend’s weather.

What’s the weather forecast for Texas?

There’s a combination of severe weather events possible for North Texas this weekend.

“Storms are already ongoing and will increase in coverage through the afternoon,” the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes and flooding are all possible.”

Meteorologists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have already issued tornado watches that extend from the Oklahoma-Texas border down to south of Waco through late Friday afternoon.

Texas weather: What’s the difference between a tornado watch and tornado warning?

But it won’t end there. The greatest severe weather potential will be late Saturday evening into early Sunday morning, according to the NWS Fort Worth website.

“Large hail, damaging winds and a tornado or two will be possible,” the website states. “Additionally, the risk for flash flooding will increase Saturday night west of I-35 and once again through Sunday afternoon across East Texas. Given the potential for night-time flooding and severe weather, make sure you have all the necessary preparations completed before severe weather strikes!”