On January 13, 2022, Felipe De Jesus Coria filed a Federal Lawsuit on Cameron County Constable for Precinct 2, Abelard “Abel” Gomez. The lawsuit complains of violations to Coria’s free speech.
The lawsuit claims Coria was retaliated against for “voicing his intention to run for the political office, specifically for the position of Cameron County Constable Precinct 2 currently held by Constable Gomez.”
Coria claims that he was transferred from his role as a supervisor to a security detail in the Cameron County Courthouse parking lot. He claims he was removed from major crime investigations. He asserts he is no longer the main liaison to federal task forces, to include Operation Stonegarden. He also states he is no longer performing supervisory duties and has been assigned to shifts and working conditions not given to other supervisors in the Precinct. Essentially, Coria is stating he has been assigned menial and pointless tasks due to his expression of free speech.
Coria identified various aspects of experience he possessed, but one item of interest seems to be his claim that he served in the “prestigious” assignment of being the Constable Deputy liaison to the U.S. Border Patrol R.G.V. Intelligence Unit. We aren’t sure that is truly a prestigious assignment; however, those that do not understand the field may consider it prestigious to be assigned to a U.S. Border Patrol Intelligence Unit.
In any case, much of the lawsuit goes into retaliation and bases a lot of communication through “WhatsApp,” which we didn’t realize was an official mode of communication for government agencies, to include the Cameron County Constables Office for Precinct 2.
The more interesting component of the lawsuit may be the exposure that deputies with the Constable’s Office are not primarily assigned duties the Texas Legislature state are the primary functions of the office. Such information may become the story of development, at least by us, based upon this lawsuit (NOTE: yes, constables can be assigned to Taskforce functions).
The lawsuit is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Brownsville, Texas, in cause 1:22-CV-00005.