Texas woman with anti-Trump truck sticker mulls lawsuit against sheriff

A Texas woman says she is considering a lawsuit against her county sheriff for “putting her on blast” on his Facebook page for an anti-Trump sticker on the back of her truck.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls posted a photo of Karen Fonseca’s truck on his Facebook page last week, showing the sticker on the back of her truck reading “F— TRUMP AND F— YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM.”

“If you know who owns this truck or it is yours, I would like to discuss it with you,” Nehls wrote in a since-deleted post. “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.”

The day after Nehls made the post, Fonseca was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant and was released later that day on $1,500 bond, according to The Washington Post.

At a news conference Monday, Fonseca said she’s considering a lawsuit against Nehls, accusing him of violating her civil rights for political gain.

“I’m just one person,” she said, according to the newspaper. “But if I can be used as bait for Troy Nehls to try to gain … supporters for him in his upcoming race for Congress against Pete Olson, then this is how the system works: Pick on the people who are vulnerable and step in and turn their lives around for gain.”

{mosads}Fonseca’s attorney, Brian Middleton, said Monday that Nehls acted like a “cyber bully” in his Facebook post.

“It is protected speech,” he said, according to BuzzFeed News. “Anyone who has a sticker like that is within their rights. He acted like a cyber bully and threatened her with prosecution.”

Fonseca also compared the sticker to statements made by President Trump.

“If you can go out there and say … grab those women by the pussy, what is that statement in comparison to what’s on the back of a truck?” she said, according to The Washington Post.

BuzzFeed reported Monday that Nehls’s office will not be charging Fonseca with disorderly conduct, and Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey told The Washington Post that Fonseca could not be, saying the sticker does not meet the “elements of the crime of disorderly conduct.”

“I don’t believe it does, nor did a select group of prosecutors in my office who reviewed the matter,” Healey said.