Prior to Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to allegedly cover up a sexual encounter, several Texas Republican elected officials attended the trial to show support for the former president.
Texas officials such as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick went to the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in May to support President Trump.
“They want to send him to jail. They want to take him off the main stage because they know he’s their biggest danger to taking the ruling class down,” Patrick said, reported The Texas Tribune.
Other officials who showed up for the trial included U.S. Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Richmond), Ronny Jackson (R-Amarillo), and Att. Gen. Ken Paxton.
“This trial is a travesty of justice. I stand with Trump,” Paxton wrote on X.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, local elected officials have condemned the Trump verdict, while others have shown support.
“The weaponization of our justice system by radical leftists has resulted in a circus trial and a sham verdict,” Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said on X.
”There will be more of this to come in the days ahead if Republicans and all freedom-loving Americans don’t come out in droves in November. Our Republic is at stake. I will continue to support President Trump and look forward to helping him win on November 5th,” added O’Hare.
Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie), who supported the verdict, asked if Republicans would nominate someone other than Trump.
“Will there be any responsible Republican leaders who put their country first and demand that Trump drop out? And work to nominate a candidate who is not a felon?” Turner said on X.
Several Trump allies and former aides have been met with investigations and prison sentences. Former aide Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress. Another former advisor, Steve Bannon, was indicted for allegedly money laundering.
The Dallas Express contacted the following North Texas Republican officials to see if they had attended any trials in support of Trump, Bannon, or any of the J6 defendants: U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Congress members Michael Burgess, Pat Fallon, Lance Gooden, Roger Williams, Keith Self, and Beth Van Duyne; State Reps. Frederick Frazier, Jeff Leach, Giovanni Capriglione, Matt Shaheen; State Sens. Tan Parker, Drew Springer, Kelly Hancock, Brian Birdwell, Angela Paxton, and Bob Hall.
The Dallas Express received a response from U.S. Rep. Self (R-McKinney).
“I sat in the second row of that Manhattan courtroom, and what I witnessed was not a trial. It was a top-down political hit job orchestrated by Joe Biden, with the singular goal of removing President Trump from the campaign trail. On November 5th, real justice will be delivered by the jury of the American people when Joe Biden is voted out of office,” Self told DX.