Texas City communications staffer arrested at city hall for impersonating La Marque council member UPDATED 6/12/2025: A Copy of the probable cause affidavit is available for review. Updated parts of the story for clarification. EDITOR’S NOTE: Quoted comments contained in this story are as they are written in the probable cause affidavit. CORRECTION: The charge against Mandalyn Salazar is a state jail felony, not a misdemeanor as reported before. • Affidavit: City Internet was used to create an email used to manage a fake Joseph Lowry Facebook account A member of the City of Texas City’s marketing and communications staff faces criminal charges after he allegedly created a fake account designed to lead the public to believe social media comments were made by a La Marque city council member who is a vocal critic of city officials. La Marque police on Tuesday (6/10/2025) arrested Derek Miller, a multimedia specialist for the City of Texas City. He is charged with online impersonation, specifically using a name or persona to create a fake online social media page, a third-degree felony. La Marque police confirmed that Miller was arrested at Texas City City Hall. He was released Tuesday night on a $10,000 bond. Court records indicate that Miller reportedly created a social media page to impersonate La Marque City Council Member Joseph Lowry. Lowry, a vocal critic of Texas City Mayor Dedrick Johnson and other officials, often posts incendiary claims on social media, including his accounts and his opinion-based pseudo-news site, the Lowry News Network. Miller is accused of creating a doppelgänger of Lowry’s social media page and making complimentary comments on city social media accounts that counter Lowry’s views. In his criminal complaint that initiated the investigation in October 2024, Lowry claims that his constant critiques of Johnson and other city officials ultimately led to his blocking from commenting on the City of Texas City's social media accounts. Meanwhile, the fake Joseph Lowry social media account remained active on Wednesday (6/11/2025) and was updated with a photo of Lowry’s wife, Sarah, in early May. It made complimentary comments and was allowed to post at will and without censorship. “Rhomari is truly a hard working, talented employee,” one comment found referring to Texas City City Secretary Rhomari Leigh read. “I’m ashamed to say I used to make false accusations against her, partially because I've always struggled with racism, but also because I find intelligent females intimidating. But I've worked with her quite a bit now, and even I have to admit, she's as knowledgeable as they come. The city of Texas city is lucky to have an employee of her caliber who is so dedicated and hard working," Another comment from the fake page read: "Like I said at the last commission meeting "you need to trust your government" they know what they're doing! trust the Texas City commission." According to Texas City’s social media policy, the city’s communications department is responsible for managing the city’s social media accounts. Texas City officials did not respond to questions about Miller’s duties. According to the city’s job description for Miller’s position, obtained through an open records request, the multimedia specialist for the Texas City Communications Department manages the city’s social media platforms among other responsibilities. In a statement emailed to local media, Texas City officials confirmed Miller had been arrested. Still, they claimed that no city devices or equipment “was requested or taken as part of the investigation.” That doesn’t mean detectives don’t suspect Miller used taxpayer-funded resources to operate the fake Joseph Lowry social media page. La Marque investigators indicate that part of the investigation is reviewing whether someone used the city’s internet access or made comments while at work. According to the probable cause affidavit used to charge Miller, a Galveston County grand jury issued subpoenas to Facebook's parent company Meta, Comcast, and T-Mobile. Those subpoenas confirmed that the IP address used to create the email that managed the fake Lowry account was traced back to the City of Texas City Police Department at 1004 9th Ave N, Texas City, TX 77590 which is where all the city’s data servers are located. From there the IP addresses traced back to devices used by Miller, according to the affadavit. Among the items was a mobile phone on the T-Mobile cellular network. The phone was tracked to Miller, the detective wrote in the affidavit. According to the affidavit, Detective Sgt. Dashiel Cantu also found an additional IP address used to log into the false Facebook profile, which was returned to Miller. Cantu wrote in the affidavit to 10th District Court Judge Rebecca Millo that “posts made by the false profile were intended to confuse or defraud the general public and lead them to believe a La Marque City Council Member was the author… in addition to this, the posts made were done so in an effort to harm the reputation and persona of an elected official, and potentially sway the voting public who may base their decisions on what they believe a City Council Member is posting online.” Texas City’s Director of Communications and Miller’s supervisor, Jennifer Laird, did not answer questions about Miller’s employment status, tenure with the city, or if anyone in the city’s senior management knew of Miller’s supposed actions before his arrest. Instead, she cited a policy of not commenting on personnel matters and stated that the city would make no further comment as the investigation proceeds. In his statement, Lowry claims that Johnson and Leigh should be targeted for arrest, alleging that the mayor and city secretary “knew about the fake profile.” Lowry, who has a history of using social media to make often unsubstantiated comments and allegations against anyone he deems “corrupt,” frequently violates commenting policies, which typically result in the deletion or blocking of comments by government entities and social media sites of private firms or media. Still, despite facing one lawsuit and threats of others, he has no judgments against him so far. While Lowry's detractors, including La Marque Mayor Keith Bell and Council Member Kim Yancy, often claim that he should face criminal prosecution for his posts and comments, no criminal complaints have led to charges. However, two people with close ties to Bell and Yancy also face criminal charges for their social media activity regarding Lowry, although neither has been arrested. Political operative and community activist Mandalyn Salazar face charges related to the state’s revenge porn statute. A warrant for her arrest on the State Jail Felony charge of Threatening the Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material. A warrant for her arrest was issued three months ago. If convicted, Salazar could face 6 months to 2 years in the county jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Officials said she has not been taken into custody because she has reportedly not been in the state since the warrant was issued. Carl Beard, a Lowry antagonist, faces a Class B misdemeanor charge of Unlawful Disclosure of Residence Address or Telephone Number, which alleges he posted online Lowry’s address and contact information “with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm.” Beard, who also hasn’t been taken into custody, denies any wrongdoing and, as recently as early May, blasted the sheriff’s office, La Marque Police Department, and District Attorney Jack Roady for not actively pursuing charges against Lowry after complaints that led to charges against him and Salazar.

Posted by i45NOW TJ Aulds at 2025-06-12 00:13:52 UTC