Pro-Palestinian protestors in Texas are being released without charges after a Soros-backed district attorney’s office decided to let them walk, according to ABC News.
At least 34 people were arrested Wednesday during protests on the University of Texas Austin’s campus which organizers called “Popular University for Gaza,” according to ABC.
“Legal concerns were raised by defense counsel. We individually reviewed each case that was presented and agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits. The Court affirmed and ordered the release of those individuals. We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate,” the Travis County Attorney’s Office said in a statement to ABC News.
José Garza is the District Attorney for Travis County, where UT Austin is located. He has received nearly half a million dollars in donations from George Soros-funded organizations like Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC, according to campaign finance documents.
Soros was the primary funder of the PAC, pouring in over $2 million, according to TransparencyUSA.com. (RELATED: Chaos Erupts At Anti-Israel Protest On College Campus)
The PAC is the Texas arm of Soros’ Safety and Justice network, which funds left-wing DA’s across the country and has poured millions into races across the country, according to Influence Watch. The PAC was the subject of criticism from Garza’s 2020 primary opponent “The amount of money being poured into the district attorney’s race is alarming and abhorrent. Local elections should be decided by people from this community, free from the crushing influence of outside spending by PACs that are not accountable to this county,” the previous DA Margaret Moore said, according to Austin Monitor.
Garza previously served as the Deputy General Counsel for the House Committee on Education and Labor under Tom Perez. He also served as a senior policy official to Tom Perez at the U.S. Department of Labor.
During his time as a public defender he worked as an immigration activist, according to an Arnold Ventures profile on him. He also led an organization called the Workers’ Defense Project, which “works to build power with low-wage working people, particularly undocumented communities and communities of color,” he told Arnold Ventures.
Texas Republicans have previously blasted Garza for his weak-on-crime stances and the impact his policies have had on the city of Austin.
“We have a district attorney now that is more concerned about prosecuting cops than criminals. There is a silent majority here and we are going to start standing up for our police officers,” Republican Texas Rep. Mike McCaul said in a 2021 press conference.
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) August 3, 2021
Garza, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, according to Jacobin, ran and won in the 2020 election for District Attorney on a platform of ending the prosecution of drug offenses.
He has repeatedly offered lenient sentences for serious criminals, including in 2023 when he sentenced a man who allegedly attacked a woman and exposed himself to her child to 10 years of probation, according to Fox News. The man pled guilty to assault and was ordered to register as a sex offender, according to Fox.
In 2020 he released a rash of criminals from prison citing Covid-19 protocols, according to the Austin Statesman.
He also prosecuted over 20 police officers over their response to George Floyd riots in 2021, according to Fox News.
He is now facing an ouster after a judge accepted a petition to remove him Friday, according to KXAN.
The petition argues Garza singles out law enforcement officials by “automatically, indiscriminately, presenting charges against them to grand juries” and that he maintains a “do not call to testify” list of law enforcement officials who he deems unfit to testify. It also claims he refused to prosecute a certain class or type of criminal offense, according to KXAN.
Elon Musk has previously criticized him, urging Tesla employees in Texas to vote him out in favor of a new DA who will “actually prosecute crimes,” Bloomberg reported.