Owner Of Texas Truck With Anti-Trump Message Gets Arrested For Fraud, Karen Fonseca Believes It’s Retaliation

The owner of a Texas truck with a profane anti-Trump message has been arrested on an outstanding warrant for a fraud charge unrelated to the sticker on her truck.

As CBS News reports, Karen Fonseca made news this week when Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy E. Nehls posted a message on the department’s Facebook page, showing the truck with the vulgar anti-Trump message affixed to the rear window.

“F**K TRUMP AND F**K YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM”

Nehls said in the description that he posted the picture hoping to find some leads as to who the owner of the truck might be, in order to “discuss” it with him or her. Specifically, Nehls had hinted that there might be criminal charges – disorderly conduct, specifically – if the sticker wasn’t removed.

The story generated fierce debate about the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and whether or not she could even be criminally charged. Several prominent lawyers, including some from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), weighed in, saying that any criminal charges against her for that sticker would almost certainly not stand up in court on First Amendment grounds.

Nevertheless, Fonseca was arrested on Thursday. However, her arrest had nothing to do with the sticker; at least officially.

ARRESTED: Karen Fonseca, the owner of this controversial truck, was arrested Thursday on an outstanding warrant. Karen said she didn’t know she had a warrant, and said: “people abuse the badge in my opinion, and money talks.”
MORE >> https://t.co/DBNFfAgAqe pic.twitter.com/hBtN7py8LI

— TucsonNewsNow (@TucsonNewsNow) November 17, 2017

Rather, she was arrested on an outstanding warrant for fraud dating back to August. According to WFAA (Dallas), the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that she was wanted for an outstanding felony warrant, issued by Rosenberg (Texas) police. The specifics of the alleged fraud case have not been made clear, as of this writing.

Fonseca is convinced that the arrest is retaliation for the sticker.

“I’m almost certain it does have to do with this. People abuse the badge, and in my opinion, money talks. When you’re in politics, people know how to work the system.”

Sheriff Nehls, who originally posted the photo of the sticker with a view towards finding its owner, has taken down the original post. There are two reasons for that, according to Nehls. First, since the owner of the truck has been found, there’s no more need to solicit tips about who owns the vehicle. Further, says Nehls, the Facebook post created an intense backlash directed at his department, and it even generated threats against his family, according to Photography Is Not A Crime.

Fonseca, meanwhile, posted $1,500 bond and is no longer in jail. It is not clear, as of this writing, when she will appear in court.

[Featured Image by Fort Bend County Jail]