Taral Patel, a former Biden administration appointee and aspiring Democratic Texas lawmaker, was accused of creating fake social media accounts to harass himself and his campaign in a bid for sympathy. The 30-year-old was arrested in June and charged with online impersonation and a Class A misdemeanor for allegedly orchestrating a series of racist attacks against himself.
Patel is running for Precinct 4 Commissioner in Fort Bend County, Texas. He allegedly used photos of real people to create fake Facebook accounts which were then used to post abusive and racist comments aimed at Patel, seemingly in an effort to portray himself as a victim of bigotry. Court records show that current Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, Patel’s opponent, requested a police investigation into the comments after noticing similarities between one of the fake accounts and an account that had previously harassed him online, reports The New York Post.
One of the fake accounts, using the name “Antonio Scalywag,” was traced back to Patel, which led to his arrest. In addition to using this pseudonym, Patel is accused of impersonating real individuals, including District Court Judge Surendran Pattel and a Pennsylvania realtor, to further his scheme. Investigators also linked Patel to the email address “theonlydangerdog@gmail.com,” which was used to create another fake persona, “Jane Donnie.”
The investigation into Patel’s activities has uncovered hundreds of pages of evidence linking him to a pattern of online impersonation and harassment. Notably, Patel’s tactics extended beyond his political opponents, as he also targeted members of his own Democratic Party, including Judge Surendran K. Pattel, Constable Nabil Shike, and primary opponent Abrahim Javed.
Despite the mounting evidence against him, Patel remains a candidate for Fort Bend County Precinct 3. His campaign continues to receive backing from the Democratic Party, with only one prominent Democrat, Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy, publicly calling for him to drop out of the race. McCoy has criticized Patel’s actions, stating that they have caused fear and confusion among immigrants who believed the racist posts were genuine.