(Texas Scorecard) – Husband and wife administrators in Denton Independent School District have admitted they are guilty of criminal electioneering after urging their staff to vote for anti-school choice candidates in the Republican primary.
But Jesus and Lindsay Lujan won’t face any criminal penalties or even see the inside of a courtroom if they follow a pre-trial diversion program their attorney negotiated with prosecutors.
After multiple delays, Lindsay Lujan was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning for a plea hearing, but instead, she and Jesus are now set for pre-trial diversion.
Pre-trial diversion means the defendants avoid a public guilty plea and can have records of their crimes wiped clean.
Before entering the voluntary program, offenders must admit their guilt to prosecutors and may have to comply with other conditions set by the district attorney.
Lindsay Lujan was recently promoted from principal of Alexander Elementary to director of special services for Denton ISD. Jesus Lujan is head of school at Borman Elementary.
Both Lujans urged staff at their schools to vote in the March Republican primary for candidates who opposed school choice, sending the political messages via the district’s taxpayer-funded email system.
A grand jury indicted the Lujans after local voters submitted complaints to Denton County District Attorney Paul Johnson accusing the school administrators of engaging in criminal election interference.
The two were charged in April with unlawful use of an internal mail system for political advertising, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
On Tuesday, the Lujans’ lawyer told a local news outlet that both his clients would be placed in pre-trial diversion and there would be “neither a judge nor a conviction.”
“As long as a person on pre-trial diversion abides by the terms of the agreement, the prosecution will dismiss the criminal case, and the person is eligible to have the charges expunged,” attorney Rick Hagen told the Denton Record-Chronicle.
The Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit law firm that helped local voters file criminal complaints against the Lujans, responded to the news on X:
Denton County school officials illegally used public resources to further a politically motivated electioneering scheme. Proud to help Texans hold these officials accountable & send a clear message to ANY public official who chooses to abuse their positions of power & use taxpayer dollars to influence elections.
Texans regularly report school districts engaging in electioneering activities, particularly during high-stakes bond and tax increase elections.
The cases against the Lujans mark the first time Texas school officials have been criminally prosecuted for using district resources to illegally electioneer.