A woman in Trinidad, Texas was arrested on felony charges for reporting that her tap water was dirty on Facebook.
Jennifer Combs says she never set out to become the face of a fight over free speech, dirty water and small-town power. She says she was simply trying to help people in Trinidad, Texas, report problems with their water. Some residents had complained about discoloration, sediment, odors and health concerns. So Combs used her Southern Belle Watch Facebook page to collect reports and send them to the state.
Then, according to Combs, the situation took a turn that still sounds hard to believe. She says police came to her home and arrested her on a felony warrant over a Facebook post.
"I've never even had a speeding ticket," Combs said. "I'm a mom of four kids. I have one grandbaby right now. I have two more grandbabies on the way."
Story gets worse, the more you read.
Combs says the post was later removed by Facebook after it was reported by a select group of people from the community and flagged, though she says Facebook did not tell her why. But before it came down, she says, then-Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory had taken a screenshot of it and posted it on the Trinidad Police Department Facebook page, accusing her of making a false report.
Except she never made a police report, she just posted something on Facebook! Anyway, the case went to a Grand Jury, which saw the whole thing was bunk and decided not to indict her. The water clerk in the town is fired for failing to say that Combs offended her. A judge later dropped the disorderly conduct issue involving her. Then, she says, the city fired that judge. The City Attorney was fired the same night.
The town is continuing to press on against her.
So what is the overriding lesson here? You may think you have a federal right to free speech but not in Texas you don't. And be careful what you put on Facebook or Instagram because they just might be coming to get you and you could end up in the hoosegaw.
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