A Texas county judge posted his critic's Social Security number on Facebook out of pure spite.
Now, under oath, that same judge just admitted to doing exactly what everyone accused him of.
His only defense left is a claim that should scare every American who has ever criticized their local government.
Judge Stops Denying, Starts Confessing
For weeks, Midland County Judge Terry Johnson refused to resign and wouldn't answer for what he'd done.
This week, in a sworn court filing, he stopped dodging and admitted it.
Johnson now admits under oath that he posted a restricted law enforcement report to his personal Facebook page.
That report contained the full name, Social Security number, date of birth, and driver's license number of Christino Rodriquez, a Midland resident known online as "Nino America."
Less than 24 hours after Rodriquez published federal court records exposing a $150,000 settlement paid out by the county, Johnson posted Rodriquez's most sensitive personal information online with the caption, "Convicted felon trying to be a player."
Rodriquez was never convicted in that case, and the charges tied to the decade-old warrant were dismissed years ago.
In that sworn filing, Johnson concedes both that he posted the document and that the criminal statutes prosecutors cited against him actually apply.
His defense is not that he didn't do it.
His defense is that he had the authority to do it – and that claim, if it holds up, doesn't stay confined to one warrant or one critic.
A County's Chief Executive Turned Government Records Into a Weapon
Johnson did not stumble onto Rodriquez's Social Security number by accident.
The lawsuit alleges Johnson used his position as Midland County's presiding officer to access a criminal justice information system unavailable to the public, then turned it on a private citizen within a day of that citizen embarrassing him.
Rodriquez's attorney, James "Trey" Trainor, calls it about as severe as doxxing gets.
Compare that to what happens when an ordinary citizen does the same thing to a federal employee.
The Justice Department recently prosecuted a Santa Monica man for posting a federal employee's home address online – a federal crime carrying up to five years in prison.
A federal prosecutor called doxxing a crime that endangers lives, not "a harmless crime."
Nobody at the Justice Department has said the same about a sitting county judge who did it with taxpayer-funded access.
His Own Party Is Running Him Out
Johnson isn't fighting off some outside partisan witch hunt.
The push to remove him is led by his own county's Republican district attorney, Glenn Harwood, who filed a Chapter 87 petition and stood at a podium calling on Johnson to resign.
Midland ISD Trustee Brandon Hodges has separately called Johnson's conduct identity theft under Texas Penal Code Section 32.51 – a state jail felony – saying Johnson "breached the public trust" the moment he used a citizen's private records to punish him for speaking out, and later moved to intervene in the removal case to keep it alive.
Midland County is about as red as Texas gets, and it's the county's own Republican leadership pushing Johnson out – not outside agitators, not a partisan pile-on.
Johnson has refused to resign anyway.
Voters already fired him once – he lost his own primary in March and leaves office in early 2027 regardless of how this case ends.
Why This Should Worry You Even If You've Never Heard of Midland
This case is bigger than one judge in West Texas.
It is a preview of what happens the moment the people running local government decide the rules apply to everyone except them.
Federal civil rights law exists because the Constitution says a public official cannot use his power to punish someone for exercising a First Amendment right – and Johnson allegedly did exactly that within a day of Rodriquez hitting "publish."
Qualified immunity has let officials walk away from far less obvious misconduct than a sworn admission, and Johnson is betting a jury will call this "official business."
If that bet pays off, every official with a grudge and database access just got a blueprint – and it won't matter what letter is next to their name on the ballot.
Sources:
- Stepheny Price, "Texas judge accused of 'doxxing' political critic faces federal lawsuit, growing push to oust him from office," Fox News, August 12, 2026.
- KOSA-TV Staff, "Midland County judge admits under oath to sharing restricted law enforcement report," KOSA/First Alert 7, August 12, 2026.
- KOSA-TV Staff, "UPDATE: District Attorney calls for Midland County Judge Terry Johnson's resignation," First Alert 7, August 6, 2026.
- KOSA-TV Staff, "Midland ISD trustee intervenes in case to remove county judge," First Alert 7, August 10, 2026.
- NewsWest9 Staff, "'Nino America' files federal civil rights lawsuit against Midland County judge," NewsWest9, July 2026.
- KMID/KPEJ Staff, "Lawsuit claims Midland judge leaked private info of citizen journalist in retaliation," YourBasin.com, July 2026.
- U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, "Santa Monica Man Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaint Alleging He Doxxed and Harassed Federal Employee," Department of Justice press release.
