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HOUSTON – Texas prosecutors connected Tuesday dropped charges against a salient blimpish activistic successful Houston related to allegations helium had been portion of what authorities person called a baseless elector fraud conspiracy mentation successful which a antheral was tally disconnected the roadworthy and held astatine gunpoint implicit claims helium was holding fraudulent elector ballots.
Dr. Steven Hotze, 74, had been facing 4 charges related to allegedly helping program an battle against an aerial conditioner repairman successful October 2020.
Prosecutors alleged the repairman was tally disconnected the roadworthy and held astatine gunpoint by Mark Aguirre, a erstwhile Houston constabulary officer. Aguirre had worked for a steadfast hired by Liberty Center for God and Country, a nonprofit enactment that Hotze runs, to prosecute a elector fraud investigation.
Aguirre had claimed the repairman was the mastermind of the elector fraud strategy and that the man’s motortruck had been filled with fraudulent ballots erstwhile Aguirre ran his SUV into it, according to authorities.
Police who responded to the incidental searched the repairman’s motortruck and recovered lone aerial conditioning parts and tools, prosecutors said.
Hotze was charged with 4 counts — aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battle with a deadly weapon, engaging successful organized transgression and unlawful restraint.
On Tuesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office dropped each 4 counts against Hotze and 3 of the 5 counts against Aguirre, who is inactive facing charges of aggravated battle with a deadly limb and unlawful restraint.
“This profoundly troubling lawsuit shows however toxic conspiracy theories tin substance real-world unit that endangers radical successful our community,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said successful a statement. “We look guardant to vigorously prosecuting the remaining charges successful this lawsuit that basal up to ineligible scrutiny.”
Jared Woodfill, Hotze’s attorney, said helium was amazed but pleased by the dismissal of the charges.
“It’s been a agelong four-year travel for Dr. Hotze. It outgo him a batch of money. Obviously, they tried to destruct his estimation done the antagonistic publicity. But successful the end, justness was served and everything’s been dismissed,” Woodfill said.
Terry Yates, an lawyer for Aguirre, did not instantly instrumentality a telephone oregon email seeking comment.
A blimpish powerfulness broker, Hotze has a agelong past of filing election-related lawsuits, including unsuccessfully suing to halt the hold of aboriginal voting successful Texas during the 2022 election. He besides sued officials successful Harris County to bounds in-person and absentee voting, making allegations without grounds that Democrats were engaged successful “ballot harvesting” by gathering votes from individuals who are stateless oregon elderly.
Woodfill said Hotze continues to judge that elector fraud is taking spot successful Harris County, the state’s astir populous region and wherever Houston is located.
“I deliberation everybody volition archer you there’s elector fraud. Just the question is however much,” Woodfill said.
Texas has tightened its elector laws successful caller years and accrued penalties that Democrats and opponents accidental are attempts to suppress turnout among Black and Latino voters.
Elections successful Harris County, a Democratic stronghold, person been heavy scrutinized successful caller years by GOP lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, aft problems with ballot and idiosyncratic shortages, agelong lines and ballots that were not counted the time of the election.
In 2023, Abbott signed a measure that removed Harris County’s elections administrator and transferred the work to different section officials.
Earlier this month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced indictments against six people successful a agrarian region southwest of San Antonio arsenic portion of a widening elections investigation.
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