The driver of a truck with a vulgar decal aimed at U.S. President Donald Trump has been arrested in Texas on a previous outstanding warrant – one day after the local sheriff said he could charge her with disorderly conduct for the sticker.
Karen Fonseca, whose rear-window decal reads “F–k Trump and f–k you for voting for him,” was arrested for an outstanding fraud warrant that was issued in August after sheriff’s deputies got an anonymous tip, according to CBS News. Her bond was set at $1,500, which her husband posted on Thursday night.
“I’m almost certain it does have to do with [the decal],” she told KHOU-TV. “People abuse the badge, and in my opinion, money talks. When you’re in politics, people know how to work the system.”
Her story caused controversy over free speech after Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he wanted to speak to Fonseca. “Our prosecutor has informed us she would accept disorderly conduct charges regarding it, but I feel we could come to an agreement regarding a modification to it,” he wrote. The post has since been deleted.
Nehls, a Republican, is considering a run for U.S. Congress, the Houston Chronicle reports.
At a news conference later on Wednesday, Nehls backed away from the idea of a disorderly conduct charge. “It would be a good time to have meaningful dialogue with that person and express the concerns out there regarding the language on the truck,” Nehls told reporters. According to CBS, District Attorney John Healey, also a Republican, said that he did not think it would have been a prosecutable case.
“Due to the hate messages he has been receiving toward his wife and children, the sheriff will not be commenting on the matter further,” spokeswoman Caitilin Espinosa told CBS.
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