Travis County DA José Garza alleges 'intimidation, harassment' at campaign event

In the days leading up to the primary election for Travis County District Attorney, incumbent José Garza said a group of people attempted to disrupt and even intimidate some of his campaign volunteers.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- In the days leading up to the primary election for Travis County District Attorney, incumbent José Garza said a group of people attempted to disrupt and even intimidate some of his campaign volunteers.

Garza said his supporters were out "block-walking" and talking to voters on Sunday, when the some members of a biker group showed up and "videotaped a campaign staffer in her car, attempted to disrupt our volunteer training, and confronted a volunteer who was there with his young daughter...followed volunteers through the neighborhood and attempted to disrupt their conversations with voters." Garza also noted that some of the group was armed.

At a news conference on Monday, one volunteer named Iris Suddaby said she and her husband had to walk in "zig-zags" to try and lose the group. Another supporter, Eli Melendrez, said he got into his car to avoid any type of confrontation, before going out to continue knocking on doors and speaking to voters.

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. Tomorrow, we will vote. And tomorrow we will win," Garza said.

KXAN spoke to Luis Rodriguez, the head of the biker group called the Wind Therapy Freedom Riders, who said it was not their intention to intimidate Garza's supporters, but rather to speak with some of the same voters and offer counter-points to the supporters' claims. Rodriguez insisted that no one in his group initiated any type of confrontation.

The group has also responded to Garza's claims by posting several videos of the interactions from Sunday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Jeremy Sylestine, who is challenging Garza in the Democratic primary, told KXAN and other media outlets he was not aware of the group.

"There's obviously no coordination going on. My campaign wears my shirt -- has my name on it," he said. "If other people are interested in critiquing or criticizing the Garza campaign, I have no control over that and would never try to influence what someone else is saying."

Garza still fired back at Sylestine's campaign, accusing them of benefitting from these types of messages and saying, "No one should be surprised that these tactics are playing out."

He went on to say, "You can't have it both ways. This is the natural consequence of inviting Republicans into our primary."

Sylestine has been open about how he believes his messages and promises about public safety have appealed to voters across party lines.

However, he recently denounced the content in some mailers sent out by a group called Saving Austin. He wrote on social media, "That extreme rhetoric and imagery should have no place in this race. There are real substantive criticisms to be made about the Travis County District Attorney’s Office under José Garza's leadership that are appropriate for the Democratic Party Primary and I stand by them."

On Monday, families and victims of violent crime hosted another news conference, calling out how Garza and his office handled their cases. Several of them expressed concerns about their cases resulting in dismissals or plea deals for the defendants, and some called on Travis County voters to make a change in who serves as Travis County's top prosecutor.

Election Day is Tuesday, March 5. The winner of the Democratic primary will face off with republican candidate Daniel Betts in November.