Tarrant GOP cites unauthenticated allegations, social media posts in attacks on Democrats
Tarrant County Republican Party chair Rick Barnes on Thursday cited unauthenticated allegations in body cam video and images of social media posts to claim “corruption and extreme racism” from Democrats running for county office.
Barnes, standing behind a lectern in a cool conference room at GOP headquarters, said the party did not vet claims made in what appears to be body cam video during a Fort Worth police encounter in 2020 nor did it work to authenticate social media posts attributed to two candidates.
“We believe that they’re factual with the information that we have,” he said without elaborating.
Barnes repeated claims that county commissioner Precinct 2 candidate Alisa Simmons sent crude and racist messages about a CPS case.
Simmons, who is president of the Arlington NAACP, said the messages about the case were fake and created as a part of a harassment campaign against her and others that escalated to involvement from local law enforcement and the national branch of the NAACP.
Her opponent, Republican Andy Nguyen, sent a press release about the messages on Tuesday, but told the Star-Telegram he did not know the source of them. Barnes said Thursday that Simmons hasn’t offered proof that she was spoofed.
Barnes also discussed body camera footage in which a man alleges that county judge candidate Deborah Peoples took part in ballot harvesting.
Gateway Pundit, a website with more false than true claims, according to Poynter’s Politifact, posted a story and accompanying body camera video it said depicts a man experiencing homelessness who was arrested in 2016 on a charge of voter fraud.
In the video, with a timestamp of Jan. 3, 2020, the man is questioned by a Fort Worth police officer about election fraud. The man tells the officer that Peoples, who was the Democratic Party Chair at the time, paid him to harvest ballots. Peoples is running against Republican Tim O’Hare.
Peoples said in a text message Thursday evening that the GOP was “disrespecting voters by leaning on false information from an outlet famous for spreading lies to serve an extreme agenda.” She said Republicans oversaw the election commission for years without issue and are now spreading lies to distract from truths about O’Hare.
Documents provided to the Star-Telegram by former Tarrant County Democratic Party chair Steve Maxwell show the man served 10 days in jail after taking a plea.
The Fort Worth Police Department did not immediately fulfill a records request for a copy of the body camera video.
Barnes also mentioned Lesa Pamplin, a judge candidate for County Criminal Court No. 5. The party provided a five-page packet of photos of tweets attributed to Pamplin’s account in which she makes comments about white and Asian people.
A tweet attributed to Pamplin alleged someone at Brigham Young University made racial slurs toward her goddaughter, a Black volleyball player at Duke, during a game. An investigation by Brigham Young found no evidence that had happened. Pamplin’s Twitter is set to private.
Pamplin, a Democrat running against Republican Brad Clark, told the Star-Telegram her tweets were taken out of context.
“Despite how I am being painted, I am not anti-white nor am I a racist,” Pamplin wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram. “I am someone who loves this country and who will never stop holding America to its promises — the promise of freedom, the promise of equality and fairness, and the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone.”
Barnes asked Tarrant County residents to report instances of fraud or racism from candidates.
“These incidents only go to show the Democratic Party in Tarrant County contains corruption and racism within their ballot,” Barnes said. “These are three clear examples from the 2022 election alone. The citizens of Tarrant County deserve better of their elected officials and anything less than censuring and replacing these candidates shows how Democrats care more about their extreme agendas than leading the county.”
Barnes was asked by the Star-Telegram how he knew the claims were true. For Pamplin, he pointed to the packet of tweets. For Peoples, he pointed to the footage.
Asked to explain his vetting process, Barnes said, “We believe that they’re factual with the information that we have.”
In an emailed statement sent Thursday afternoon, Simmons said it was clear that Nguyen was afraid to run on his own record and that while Republicans have been in charge for decades, they have failed Tarrant County residents as property taxes have increased, commutes have gotten worse and schools have become unsafe.
“This is why voters removed Andy from Commissioner Court four years ago, because he failed,” Simmons wrote. “Instead of talking about his record and the issues, Andy and the Republicans want to distract voters.”
Allison Campolo, who chairs the Tarrant County Democratic Party, wrote in a statement that the GOP believes “baseless allegations against a woman of color” could distract from O’Hare’s record of raising taxes, spending wastefully and fear-mongering over critical race theory as a reason to defund public schools.
“These TMZ tactics will continue to drive more political party crossover among Tarrant County voters,” Campolo wrote. “Texans are tired of hateful attacks and ready for solutions. In 2018, 2020, and again on November 8th, 2022 we have every faith in voters that the blue trend will continue.”
