Political Consultant Convicted of Trying to Coerce Lawmaker to Drop Out of 2020 Election: DA

A political consultant was convicted for a scheme that was designed to impact the outcome of a Texas state race during the 2020 election cycle, said officials in Harris County.

Damien Jones, a Democrat consultant, was convicted of coercion of a public servant for sending anonymous threatening text messages to then-State Rep. Gina Calanni, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. Those messages, Ogg said, were designed to get Calanni to resign rather than run for reelection.

He made those threats just days before the 2020 election filing deadline, Ogg added.

“At a time when threats against public servants are at an all-time high, it is critical to hold accountable those who would try to subvert the will of the people by coercing a state representative into dropping out of an election,” Ogg told local media outlet ABC13. “We thank the jurors for their service.”

Jones had served as a regional political director for former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-Texas) failed bid for the U.S. Senate. He also worked with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Jones, who was indicted in late 2020, was convicted of a Class A misdemeanor and faces up to one year in the Harris County Jail and up to a $4,000 fine. He also received one year of probation.

But his attorney, Oliver Jason Brown, suggested to the Houston Chronicle that Jones’s constitutional rights were violated.

“This is a First Amendment case,” Brown said. “People need to take caution, that based off of conviction and how the law is written, you could theoretically charge anyone who threatens to bring hatred, contempt or embarrassment on a public official. That’s how the law is written. It’s written incorrectly.”

The message to Calanni was actually “a heads up,” Brown added. “She was getting a heads up that was what they were

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases