KXAN traces harassment of judge, candidates, attorneys to one man

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A recent Facebook post published on the re-election campaign page of Travis County Court at Law #4 Judge Dimple Malhotra revealed the Austin Police Department is currently investigating an individual she said has been impersonating and harassing her, as well as others, since 2020.

Malhotra's Feb. 4 Facebook post further states, "We need everyone, everyone to understand these communications are not coming from me or my campaign."

KXAN spoke to Malhotra who said she first became aware of the impersonation in March 2020, around the primary election that year, when she received a phone call from local political group The Black Austin Democratic club informing her it had received emails — which she characterized as “vile" — from someone insinuating they were affiliated with her campaign.

KXAN spoke to the former president of the Black Austin Democrats who said the club received two or three "disturbing" emails written as if they came from Malhotra or her campaign during the 2020 election.

After winning the 2020 election and becoming CC4 judge, Malhotra said there was a brief period where things were quiet, but then she started hearing about other attorneys, including prosecutors, receiving similar emails.

Then in late 2021, Malhotra told KXAN she began receiving emails herself.

“The timing and the nature of the emails suggested that they were coming from the same individual,” Malhotra said.  

Malhotra said she couldn’t provide specific details of the emails she’s received due to the ongoing police investigation, but she told KXAN she's received "thousands" of emails as a result of this individual using her email address to subscribe to various online publications.

She said she has also received emails that are threatening in nature but has never been directly threatened.  

“I wouldn’t want anyone to be on the receiving end of something like this,” Malhotra said.

An email sent to KXAN from 2022 election candidate 'Jana Ortega'

KXAN began its investigation in early January after receiving an email very similar in nature to the communications Malhotra described in her recent Facebook post.

But the email sent to KXAN wasn't directly targeting Malhotra. It was a person impersonating Jana Ortega, a criminal defense attorney in Austin for the last 19 years, who is running against Malhotra in the 2022 election for CC4 judge.

The email, sent by someone claiming to be Ortega, stated she had decided to end her race, followed by multiple self-degrading statements and a link to support Malhotra's re-election campaign.

KXAN spoke with Ortega who said the email was fake, sent by an imposter.

Ortega said she had been receiving alarming communications since December.

“I began to be targeted with physical harm and racial attacks,” Ortega said. “Emails and text messages, hundreds of them threatening my family, my daughter and myself.”

Ortega provided KXAN numerous records of the communications she said she's received.

“Every time the phone goes off or you get an email notification, you wonder if you’re going to be met with a screen full of racial epitaphs, cuss words or harassing threats,” Ortega said.

Who's behind the harassment?

The person behind the threatening and harassing communications has used a variety of fake email accounts, usernames and phone numbers to impersonate others and hide his identity, according to court records and other documents KXAN obtained.

KXAN cross-referenced that information with court records to identify the person believed to be behind the current threats Ortega and her family are receiving. KXAN is not identifying the individual because he has not been charged in relation to the latest communications, and because the other cases are still playing out in court.

KXAN’s investigation led to an individual with multiple pending criminal charges in Travis County for prior offenses related to harassment and violating protecting orders.

All of these cases are currently assigned to Malhotra’s court.

KXAN obtained 64 pages of Travis County court records revealing a history of harassment, threats and explicit communications sent by this person to others — including attorneys — who were not involved in the election but instead were part of his court hearings. KXAN found similarities between what these victims experienced and the communications Ortega and Malhotra have received.

Additionally, KXAN found usernames, caller IDs and email addresses in the court records to be consistent with the communications Ortega provided.  

Victims received thousands of spam emails, and even direct threats, according to Travis County court records. Those targets include the organization that monitors the GPS device that he’s court-ordered to wear as a condition of his bond release for the pending charges.

Another victim received a package at their private residence containing a “glitter bomb” — typically used in various hoaxes — that once opened throws glitter everywhere, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Malhotra said she became aware of the person's identity and connection to her court in mid-2021. According to Travis County Court records, this person has not had a hearing in Malhotra's court since she said she learned of his identity.

Malhotra told KXAN it would be improper for her to have any involvement in these cases and confirmed that she would not be on the bench during hearings related to this person.

"Any time there's a situation like this where a judge might have a conflict of interest, they would voluntarily recuse themselves," Malhotra said.

Previous CC4 election candidate and others targeted

Ortega told KXAN she doesn’t believe it’s common for a candidate to experience this kind of harassment. However, she said she knew of others in previous campaigns who had similar experiences.

Specifically, a former candidate in the 2020 Travis County election, Margaret Kercher, who at the time was running against Malhotra for the same office.

KXAN spoke with Kercher who said she had a very similar experience to what Ortega is now going through: anonymous emails filled with racist attacks demanding she drop out of the race.

Kercher said she no longer has record of these communications, as they were sent to her then-campaign email address which has since expired. However, she was able to provide KXAN a record of her correspondence with an APD detective overseeing the investigation at the time.

According to emails provided by Kercher from 2020, a detective wrote, “The Austin Police Department is investigating a report of suspicious emails/electronic communications sent in an apparent effort to attribute them to Travis County Judge Dimple Malhotra or her re-election campaign.”

The detective wrote, “I am very sorry that you were the recipient of such abhorrent and inexcusable messages,” according to an email provided by Kercher.

Kercher ultimately lost the election to Malhotra and said she feels the communications impacted her personally and affected her campaign. She added she wasn’t the only one during her campaign who was targeted.

KXAN learned there was another local Austin attorney who said he became a target after he posted his support online for Kercher’s candidacy in the election for CC4 judge.  

The attorney, who wished to remain anonymous, told KXAN his experience went beyond receiving threatening emails.

He said a suspicious package was sent to his home address.

It was another “glitter bomb.”

The attorney provided KXAN email records of the harassing and threatening communications he received as well as his correspondence with an APD detective at the time.

"Please look into this matter," the attorney wrote to the detective. "It seems this thing is escalating," according to records provided to KXAN.

In response to the attorney's email, the detective's wrote he discussed the case with a FBI Cybercrime Task Force Officer who was looking into the possibility of opening a federal investigation, according to records provided by the attorney.

He told KXAN the harassing emails went on for about a month before tapering off, until recently when he received another one about Ortega's campaign.

Both Kercher and that attorney continue to practice law in Travis County and said they’re ready to move on and leave this experience behind.  

Law enforcement involvement

Ortega told KXAN she immediately reported the threats to local law enforcement, who she said has been very helpful and is taking the situation seriously.  

Records obtained by KXAN indicate an APD investigation was initially opened in 2020 due to the communications sent to Kercher and others from someone insinuating to be associated with Malhotra.

KXAN spoke to the APD detective currently assigned to the case who confirmed there is an ongoing investigation, but was unable to comment on the information in the emails provided by Kercher or the attorney or provide additional details about the case.

However, KXAN learned APD has identified a primary suspect and recently executed a search warrant at the individual’s home.

APD wouldn't confirm whether the suspect is the same person KXAN has identified due to this being an ongoing investigation.

Specific details of the evidence seized has not been released and formal charges have yet to be brought against this individual.  

Security measures

KXAN has identified at least eight victims or targets of these threatening and harassing communications beginning in 2019, according to court records and KXAN's independent research. Nearly five years earlier, another Travis County judge, Julie Kocurek, was shot in the driveway of her home during an assassination attempt carried out by Chimene Onyeri.

Onyeri was a defendant in Kocurek's courtroom.

In 2017, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 42, known as the "Judge Julie Kocurek Judicial and Courthouse Security Act," which made changes to the law designed to improve the security of judges, both in their courtrooms and homes.

According to the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System, there were 595 court security incidents in 2019 and 666 in 2021 statewide. There was no data for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While SB 42 aimed to improve the security of judges, Ortega told KXAN she's not aware of measures in Texas that provides attorneys protection from threats or harassment.

KXAN reached out the State Bar of Texas and confirmed it does not track or monitor threats made against attorneys. It recommends they contact the police in the event this happens.