AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Travis County District Attorney's Office provided details Thursday surrounding the nature of the threats allegedly made against District Attorney Jose Garza, and the reasons the Travis County Commissioners Court authorized county funds to be transferred to the DA's office for Garza's security.
In total, the Commissioners Court authorized $115,000 — $64,000 of which was used to improve security at Garza's personal home, according to a press release.
The move drew controversy and sparked an ongoing legal battle between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the county.
Garza said he began receiving political threats of violence following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's announcement in April 2023 about his plans to pardon Daniel Perry. Perry was convicted of murder in the 2020 death of a protester. Perry admitted to shooting the demonstrator in downtown Austin, and his attorneys argued the shooting was in self-defense. Abbott pardoned Perry in May 2024.
The DA's Office said Garza continued to receive threats in person, online and via mail through 2024 and provided the following examples of the threats against Garza:
"Resign by end of June or we will kill you. Executing a communist piece of s--- such as yourself is always a pleasure. Soros can't save you," one of the notes provided by the DA's Office read.
In an interview on Thursday, Garza told KXAN the threatening letter was mailed to his home and also that some of the conversation online contained threats of releasing his personal address to the public, in an attempt to influence his office policies.
Watch more of the interview in the video player above. It has been edited for time and clarity.
According to the district attorney's office, it alerted the appropriate authorities to the threats, and ultimately contacted the Travis County Commissioners Court. After three security assessments of his home were completed, the court approved the transfer of $115,000 to the DA's Office for security measures.
Paxton later sued Travis County over the move, accusing it of “violating the Texas Open Meetings Act”. At the time, Paxton said, “Travis County has illegally abused procedure to conceal self-serving decision-making, to hide from scrutiny, and to prevent citizens from knowing exactly what is being done with their money."
Garza said he "respectfully disagrees" with the attorney general about the law in this case, telling KXAN in the interview, "It is our view that there's clear Texas Supreme Court precedent that has been in place, that was put in place in response to requests for high ranking Republican officials security information, and that our position is consistent with that precedent. We simply have a legal disagreement with the Attorney General's Office. We expect respect to their role in this process, and there is room for judicial oversight by district courts."
The DA's Office press release and interview with KXAN comes amid several legal battles over public records pertaining to these security measures.
Recently, Garza and Travis County Auditor Patti Smith filed a lawsuit against the attorney general, following a public records decision from Paxton's office stating "some" information requested related to Garza's security should be released.
This is the second time in recent months that a lawsuit has been filed against Paxton due to an open records decision that directly relates to county funds being used for Garza's security.
In September, Smith filed a lawsuit against Paxton after his office ruled records KXAN requested -- related to $27,000 of county funds for Garza's private security -- should be released.
In an interview on Thursday, KXAN asked the district attorney about the ongoing back-and-forth over these records.
Garza responded, "I think there are two interests that we think are really important for our office to continue to protect: the first is the ability of our office to prosecute cases in our office. And our view is that the release of the totality of this information could jeopardize our ability to prosecute some of the cases in our office. The second piece is that through this process, we have disclosed the total amount of money set aside by Commissioner's court for security, and we have disclosed the total amount of money allocated to safeguard my residents. The details beyond that are the specific measures that were taken to safeguard my residents, and it is our view that those details becoming public could increase risk for me and our family in light of the threats that we've experienced today."
He told KXAN he believes both the county and his office have "worked hard" to balance both of those priorities with transparency -- all while following the law.
Garza also said his office would be releasing some of the records in line with Paxton's ruling on them, but he noted his office has appealed other elements of the decision.
According to the district attorney's office new release, the threats made against him were reported to the proper authorities. He said he believes the written threat mailed to his home was forwarded to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office previously told KXAN it collaborates with other law enforcement agencies and provides close patrol and security to elected officials upon request if they determine a “valid” threat exists.
KXAN previously asked Garza if the potential threats against him were reported to TCSO to be investigated, and if so, what TCSO found. KXAN never received a response.
“TCSO supports the safety of elected officials and we evaluate their requests for assistance on a case by case basis. We assess each situation to determine the existence of exigent circumstances, a valid threat and jurisdiction,” TCSO previously stated.
