Texas
Texas grandmother thrown in jail after criticizing local government. Now her case heads to the Supreme Court
A small town political feud that wound up with a Texas city council member behind bars is headed to the Supreme Court this week, where justices will consider whether the councilwoman can sue city leaders for politically motivated retaliation.
“I would never believe that I would be going to the Supreme Court,” Sylvia Gonzalez told Fox News. “I would never believe that I was in jail, either.”
Castle Hills police arrested Sylvia Gonzalez in July 2019 on a charge of tampering with a public document. Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether the grandmother and former city councilwoman can sue city officials for politically-motivated retaliation. (Courtesy Institute for Justice)
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Gonzalez and her attorneys at the nonprofit Institute for Justice are suing 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.
“In America, we don’t arrest our critics,” IJ attorney Anya Bidwell said.
Gonzalez’s story began in 2019, when the then-72-year-old retiree won a seat on the Castle Hills City Council. She said constituents had complained extensively that city manager Ryan Rapelye was unresponsive, particularly to their concerns over the condition of their streets.
In America, we don’t arrest our critics.
As soon as she was elected, Gonzalez championed a non-binding petition calling for the city manager to be replaced with a previous manager citizens 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.
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.
Security video from May 22, 2019, shows then-Councilwoman Sylvia Gonzalez pulling the petition out of her binder at the request of Mayor JR Trevino and a police officer. The non-binding petition called for the reinstatement of a former city manager, who Gonzalez and supporters said was more reliable and dedicated to completing street repairs than her successors. (Screenshot via City of Castle Hills Texas/YouTube)
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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 told Fox News. “I’d never been in jail … and it was very scary to an old lady like me.”
Trevino and police chief John Siemens used the briefly displaced petition to launch a criminal investigation into Gonzalez, her lawsuit claims. 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 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.
‘THEY WANTED TO PUNISH ME’: FORMER CITY COUNCILWOMAN’S RETALIATION CASE GOES TO SUPREME COURT:
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Detectives found probable cause to believe Gonzalez intentionally stole the petitions, violating a Texas ban on intentionally removing or destroying government records, according to court documents from the defendants.
The statute is usually used in cases involving fake Social Security numbers, forgeries of official checks and counterfeit green cards, 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’s lawsuit accuses Mayor JR Trevino and former Castle Hills Police Chief John Siemens of launching a bogus investigation after she says she accidentally placed a petition she spearheaded into her binder. She was arrested for tampering with a public document, but the DA’s office later dismissed the charge. (Courtesy City of Castle Hills)
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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.
Attorneys for Trevino and the other defendants did not return a request for comment.
The city officials invoked qualified immunity, a defense commonly used to shield government officials from liability unless it can be proven that they violated a clearly established constitutional right.
They wanted to punish me, and they wanted to make sure I went to jail. And they did a good job.
A district court judge initially denied the defendants’ immunity, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling. In a 2-1 decision, the court determined Gonzalez failed to prove her arrest was retaliatory because she could not cite cases in which other individuals had not been arrested for actions similar to hers.
The 5th Circuit cited Nieves v. Bartlett, which involved police officers making “split-second decisions,” Bidwell said. IJ hopes the Supreme Court will decide that this special protection from First Amendment lawsuits should not be extended to other government officials.
“When it comes to mayors, when it comes to other desk-bound bureaucrats who want to throw their critics in jail, First Amendment comes first, and they should be held accountable for violations of people’s constitutional rights,” Bidwell said.
Gonzalez’s lawsuit alleges Trevino and his political allies tried to have her removed from the city council in a variety of ways, including declaring that she had been improperly sworn in by the county sheriff. The 72-year-old retiree eventually resigned from the council. The city manager whose performance she criticized kept his job. (Courtesy Institute for Justice)
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Gonzalez will have her case heard Wednesday.
Bidwell said Gonzalez’s case could have wide-reaching implications, including in the 2023 police raid of a local newspaper office in Marion County, Kansas. The police chief was allegedly “infuriated” the newspaper was investigating his background, according to a federal lawsuit recently filed in the case.
To hear more from Gonzalez and Bidwell, click here.
Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.
A Brazilian fitness influencer has died after getting into difficulty during the swimming portion of an ironman event in Texas.
Mara Flavia Souza Araujo was reported as a “lost swimmer” around 7.30am at the Ironman Texas in Lake Woodlands near Houston on Saturday. According to KPRC 2 News, safety crews could not immediately locate Araujo. The 38-year-old’s body was discovered around 90 minutes later in 10ft of water by divers. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department confirmed her identity in a statement to NBC on Monday.
“MCSO can confirm that Mara Flavia Souza Araujo, 38, of Brazil died while competing in the Ironman event in The Woodlands on Saturday,” the sheriff’s department told NBC News. “Preliminary investigations indicate she drowned during the swimming portion of the event.”
Araujo was an experienced triathlete and had completed at least nine ironman events since 2018. She had more than 60,000 followers on Instagram and had posted about the importance of making the most out of life in the days before her death.
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“Enjoy this ride on the bullet train that is life,” she wrote in Portuguese. “And even with the speed of the machine blurring the landscape, look out the window – for at any moment, the train will drop you off at the eternal station.”
Organizers of the race expressed their condolences on Saturday.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time,” race organizers said in a statement on Saturday. “Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for their assistance.”
A glamorous triathlete who drowned during an Ironman competition in Texas shared a photo from a swimming pool during a final training session just two days before the tragic race.
Brazilian influencer Mara Flávia, 38, shared the shot of her on the edge of a pool on Thursday — two days before she vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning.
“Just another day at work,” Flávia, 38, wrote in Portuguese alongside the pic of her wearing a matching pink swimming costume and cap.
The influencer, who had more than 60,000 followers online, chose the Robin S track “Show Me Love” for her post with the hashtags “triathlon,” “swimming” and “triathlete.”
Flávia vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning – the first of three grueling trials that competitors face during the 140-mile race.
Fire crews were told about a “lost swimmer” at around 7:30 a.m., one hour into the pro-female swim, KPRC reported.
Rescuers battled challenging visibility conditions before Flávia’s body was pulled from the water just after 9:30 a.m.
Montgomery County Sheriffs confirmed that the victim “drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event,” according to a statement. The office said its Major Crimes unit will continue the investigation “per normal protocols.”
Shawn McDonald, a volunteer, recounted the commotion before the swimmer’s body was recovered.
The dad, who volunteered with his daughter Mila, 12, said a group of younger volunteers in a kayak raised a flag and blew their whistles, “yelling for help.”
“I heard them say she went under,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I had Mila hand me the paddle and I started calling out to the athletes around us to stop so I could cross. I made my way over in about 30 seconds.
“When I got there and asked what happened, they all said the same thing: She went under. Right here. Right below us. The panic and fear on their faces won’t leave me for a long time.”
The volunteer recalled how one man had a “thousand-yard stare” on his face – before diving into the water in a desperate bid to find Flávia.
“I dove in immediately and began searching. After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot. I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down. She was gone.”
Boats with sonar combed the area – and McDonald was told to leave the water before the body was recovered.
“The victim was found in about 10 feet of water on the bottom of the lake,” Buck said. “The dive team accessed the victim, brought her up about 9:37 and then brought her over to the shore where she was pronounced DOS [deceased on scene],” Palmer Buck, the Woodlands fire chief, said.
It’s not known what caused the triathlete to go under the water.
Journalism grad Flávia previously worked in radio and television before pursuing a sporting career at age 28.
She previously twice won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and finished third in the Brasilia triathlon event.
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
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Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
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