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What began as a controversial Facebook post has spiraled into a legal firestorm for a West Texas judge, who now faces a federal civil rights lawsuit and an unprecedented effort by his own district attorney to remove him from office.
Midland County Judge Terry Johnson is accused of posting a political critic’s Social Security number, driver’s license number and date of birth on Facebook less than 24 hours after the man published federal court records involving Midland County.
Christino Rodriquez, who goes by “Nino America” online, alleges in a 26-page federal lawsuit that Johnson retaliated against him for criticizing local government by using his position to obtain confidential information and publishing it online.
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According to the lawsuit, Johnson posted a 2015 arrest warrant on his personal Facebook page with the caption, “Convicted felon trying to be a player.” The complaint alleges the charges connected to the warrant were later dismissed and Rodriquez was not convicted in the case.
The filing also points to what was redacted — and what wasn’t.
Rodriquez’s home address and telephone number appeared blacked out, while his Social Security and driver’s license numbers remained visible. The lawsuit argues the selective redactions support its allegation that the disclosure was intentional.
James “Trey” Trainor, an attorney representing Rodriquez, told Fox News Digital the case goes beyond one Facebook post.
“The lawsuit is really about retaliation and abuse of power,” Trainor said. “It’s kind of secondarily about First Amendment rights and the ability of people to actually criticize government without having government being used as a weapon against them.”
Trainor said Rodriquez is active in the Midland community, attends public events and speaks out about local government.
“At the end of the day, he did that and he upset the county judge, and the county judge thought it was time to retaliate against him,” Trainor alleged.
Trainor said Johnson had an employee access a criminal justice information system to obtain information about Rodriquez.
The federal complaint alleges Johnson obtained the unredacted warrant either through his own official access or through county personnel acting at his request or direction.
Trainor said the disclosure has left Rodriquez and his wife worried about identity theft and where the information could end up.
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“This is probably the highest form of doxxing that you could ever engage in by putting this type of personal information out there,” Trainor said.
“We don’t know how many pictures were taken, how many screenshots were saved, all of those types of things,” he added. “So we really don’t have an overall understanding yet of how broad the damage is.”
Trainor said his team has begun discussions with the Social Security Administration about potentially changing Rodriquez’s Social Security number.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and other relief, including lifetime identity-theft protection and credit monitoring. No dollar amount has been attached to the case.
“We’re still looking into how much it’s actually going to cost and talking to experts on what the overall negative effect on Nino’s life is going to be,” Trainor said.
For Trainor, the case also raises a broader question about what happens when citizens criticize those in power.
“We need that information to be available to law enforcement to track down the bad guys,” Trainor said of criminal justice information. “The only difference here is that my client wasn’t a bad guy. He was just somebody who decided to speak out about a local issue.”
Meanwhile, the separate effort to remove Johnson from office is also evolving.
Midland County District Attorney Glenn Harwood filed a petition Aug. 6 seeking Johnson’s removal, the first step under Texas law in attempting to oust a county-level elected official.
“There’s a lot of gates that it has to go through before it actually gets to a removal action,” Harwood told Fox News Digital.
Harwood said the petition goes to the region’s administrative judge, who can dismiss it or assign it to another judge. An outside prosecutor would also have to decide whether to pursue the civil action.
Now, Midland ISD Trustee Brandon Hodges has moved to intervene in the case, arguing his involvement could keep the removal effort alive if a legal challenge arises over Harwood’s dual role as district attorney and the resident who initiated the proceeding.
Hodges’ filing says he is not seeking to replace Harwood or add new allegations against Johnson. Instead, he is asking to join as an independently qualified Midland County resident and adopt the same grounds for removal already alleged by Harwood.
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“I intervened so this removal case does not die on a procedural technicality tied to Glenn Harwood’s dual role,” Hodges said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “If the court rules against him on that issue, the case still needs to move.”
“Midland County deserves a real decision, not delay, excuses, or a quiet escape hatch for insiders,” Hodges added. “I filed to help make sure that happens.”
The 16-page filing argues Harwood occupies an unusual position because he initiated the removal proceeding as a Midland County resident while also serving as district attorney and swearing that the factual allegations in his petition are within his personal knowledge.
Hodges does not allege Harwood acted improperly and is not asking the court to remove him from the case. His filing instead describes the intervention as a way to prevent a potential dispute unique to Harwood from derailing the removal proceeding.
Steven Villela, a candidate for Midland County Commissioner Precinct 3, also joined those calls in a Facebook post, saying he agreed with Harwood that Johnson should resign.
“No elected official is above the law, and every public servant has a duty to protect the rights and confidential information of the people they serve,” Villela wrote.
“Accountability isn’t about politics, it’s about doing what’s right,” he added.
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Harwood emphasized that the removal effort is separate from Rodriquez’s federal lawsuit, saying he has “no role” in that case.
He also acknowledged what he described as a “potential criminal case,” but declined to comment further because “nothing has happened on that front publicly yet.”
Trainor separately told Fox News Digital that he and Rodriquez were interviewed by a Texas Ranger.
Trainor said the Ranger asked questions to verify whether the information shown online, including the Social Security and driver’s license numbers, belonged to Rodriquez.
Trainor also said subpoenas had been issued to Meta seeking confirmation of when and where the information was posted and potentially viewed.
The controversy has also generated public calls for Johnson to leave office.
Midland County resident Shandi Williams called for Johnson’s resignation during a Commissioners Court meeting, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
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Johnson lost his reelection bid after failing to advance from the March 3 primary. If he remains in office, his term is expected to end in early 2027, when election winner Jay Marquez is set to take office, according to the Reporter-Telegram.
Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson and his attorney for comment.
