Travis County District Attorney José Garza says a series of escalating threats against him pushed him to request county money for personal security.
The DA said he's received death threats online, including tweets displaying his address. One handwritten note delivered to his home last year read, "Resign by the end of June or we will kill you."
Garza said the threats ramped up after Daniel Perry was sentenced in 2023 for murdering Garrett Foster at a Black Lives Matter protest. The case drew the attention of Gov. Greg Abbott, who railed against the prosecution and vowed to pardon Perry. The threats surged again, Garza said, after the governor's later pardon made national headlines.
"We received a death threat at the house, and local social media users began posting what they believed was my address – including maps and images," he said, suggesting that "threatening my safety was the way to get me to change my policies and practices."
Garza said the plan to provide security for him was recommended by county staff and security assessments from law enforcement and an outside contractor.
Travis County commissioners agreed to spend $115,000 on security for him. Of that amount, $64,000 was spent on home security, according to an invoice Garza released Thursday.
The decision also drew the attention of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He sued the county over the payment in September, arguing it was against state law and seeking records related to the security detail.
Garza filed a countersuit earlier this month, saying the release of these records would reveal sensitive information.
In his lawsuit, Paxton argued the practice of providing home security for an elected official is "incredibly uncommon" and that the county shouldn't be "spending county funds on an elected official’s private residence which the county neither owns nor maintains, for security the county does not control."
Paxton himself receives security from the Department of Public Safety and has used that protection for personal trips to his Collin County home, according to an investigation by The Texas Tribune.
Travis County commissioners recently moved to also beef up security for elected officials and judges, in particular.
Last month, commissioners OK'd half a million dollars to protect judges and other county officials. District Judge Julie Kocurek, who was nearly killed by a defendant in a case before her court in 2015, called on commissioners to help all elected officials.
"It would help protect us where we are most vulnerable, so that we can do our jobs free from danger ... and keep our families free from danger, as well," she asked.
District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, who presided over Alex Jones' defamation case in 2022, said she regularly receives "truly vile" messages during high-profile cases, along with a "barrage" of threats.
