According to court filings, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home on Monday when a process server attempted to serve him with a subpoena to testify in an abortion case.
The subpoena was to testify against eight abortion funds fighting the state’s all-out abortion ban. The abortion funds and a Texas OB-GYN sued the state and Paxton back in August, arguing the restrictive laws violate First Amendment rights and criminalize legal abortion care.
Process server Ernesto Martin Herrera wrote in an affidavit that Texas Senator Angela Paxton and the wife of AG Paxton drove both of them away in a Black Chevrolet truck.
“At approximately 9:40 a.m., the garage door opened up, and I saw Mr. Paxton exiting the garage,” Herrera wrote. “I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage.”
According to Herrera, next, Angela Paxton exited the house, starting up a Chevrolet truck in the driveway and leaving the rear driverside door open.
“A few minutes later, I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver’s side. I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him,” Herrera wrote.
Herrera said after realizing Paxton wasn’t going to take the documents by hand, he left them on the ground next to the truck.
Since running from the subpoena, Paxton tweeted he was concerned about his family’s safety and “is lucky the situation didn’t escalate further.”
On Tuesday, Federal Judge Robert Pitman agreed to repeal the documents for Paxton’s testimony.
Despite being indicted for security fraud for seven years and under current investigation for bribery and abuse of power, Paxton has not faced trial for any cases and denies any wrongdoing.
The Texas Attorney General Race is one of the closest in the upcoming statewide election, with Paxton leading Democratic nominee Rochelle Garza by three points.
Election Day for this race is Nov. 8, 2022.
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
