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.BABYLON BEE SUES NEW MEXICO OFFICIALS OVER LAW REQUIRING AI DISCLAIMERS ON POLITICAL SATIREMidland County Judge Terry Johnson faces a federal civil rights lawsuit and a separate effort seeking his removal from office.(Re-Elect Terry Johnson for Midland County Judge Facebook)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 i...