Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy has called on Taral Patel to drop out of the race for Precinct 3 commissioner. Patel, a once-rising political star in Fort Bend County, was arrested in June on a felony charge of online impersonation and a misdemeanor for misrepresentation of identity.
McCoy, who represents Precinct 4, is one of the first Fort Bend County Democrats to publicly condemn Patel’s actions.
Patel was arrested June 12 after county investigators accused him of using a Fort Bend County resident’s identity under the username “Antonio Scalywag” to post fake racist and xenophobic messages about himself on Facebook.
Patel also faces accusations of impersonating a Fort Bend County district judge, according to a July 1 search warrant.
“This is about the future of our community, and we cannot stand idly by and act and give our consent for this sort of behavior with our silence,” McCoy told the Houston Landing.
Calls to Patel from the Landing were not returned.
Online impersonation is a third-degree felony and misrepresentation of identity is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas.
Patel, who won the Democratic primary in March, is running for commissioner of Precinct 3, which covers Sugar Land. Patel previously served as chief of staff for Fort Bend County Judge KP George.
McCoy, who represents Precinct 4, called on members of his party to stand for their morals.
“Do we rally behind an individual facing credible allegations of undermining trust in our democracy just because they’re on our team?” he asked in the letter. “Or do we remain steadfast in our principles and show our communities and the nation that we truly believe everyone must be held accountable for their actions, regardless of party affiliation?”
McCoy said calls from the community and a reflection on other incidents, including felony charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, inspired him to speak out despite minimal noise from fellow Democrats. Prosecutors agreed in March to drop securities fraud charges against Paxton if he completes 100 hours of community service and meets other requirements.
McCoy said he’s seen some organizations retract their endorsement of Patel and believes that pattern will continue.
The investigation into Patel was prompted by his Republican opponent, incumbent Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, in October. According to court documents, Meyers recognized the Scalywag account, claiming it had made posts attacking him.
Patel posted on his X account in September that he was receiving a barrage of hateful messages from Scalywag and others. Many of those hateful Facebook comments featured in the post expressed support for Meyers, who has held the commissioner seat since 1997.
Investigators determined the profile photo on the Scalywag Facebook account belonged to Needville resident Patrick Ernst.
When brought in for questioning, Ernst said he never made the posts or sent direct messages from the account, and he didn’t give anyone consent to do so on his behalf. He considered the messages to be harmful to his reputation, court records show.
The Houston Landing reached out to Ernst in July, but he declined to comment on the case.
Through subpoenas to Google and Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, investigators were able to identify the email address attached to the Scalywag account. The email address was connected to an address belonging to Patel’s parents. The email was also connected to a 16-digit credit card number, which investigators confirmed through a subpoena belonged to Patel.
This allegedly isn’t the only fake account Patel has created, according to court documents.
Investigators also believe Patel may be linked to a false account impersonating Fort Bend County District Judge Surrendran K. Pattel, according to a search warrant filed on July 1.
The Scalywag fake page interacted with the judge’s real Facebook page starting in August 2021. The conversations were friendly in nature until January 2022, when it appeared Pattel took issue with a post Scalywag made, according to the search warrant. The Scalywag account made several attempts to contact Pattel in November 2023, but those attempts went unanswered.
After Patel’s arrest in June, his phone was searched for any user accounts and information stored on his cell phone. The report revealed a Facebook account registered to the name Surrendran Pattel and attached to the email taral@movetexas.org, according to the search warrant.
When approached by investigators about this account, Pattel said the account with his name and photo didn’t belong to him, and he didn’t authorize anyone to create a Facebook account for him.
Patel’s arraignment for the felony online impersonation charge is set for 1 p.m. Monday
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