Republican Texas House candidate in Collin County charged with impersonating public servant

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A Texas House candidate and police officer backed by former President Donald Trump and top Texas Republicans has been indicted on a charge of impersonating a public servant, according to authorities.

Dallas police said Friday that Frederick Frazier was placed on administrative leave after the department was notified that a Collin County grand jury indicted him.

Frazier faces two charges of impersonating a public servant, a third-degree felony. He is alleged to have impersonated a McKinney city code enforcement employee on two occasions — late last year and then again in early February — to instruct people to "remove campaign signage."

Frazier's primary runoff opponent, Paul Chabot, had suggested during the race that Frazier had posed as a city code enforcement officer to get a Walmart to take down Chabot signs on its property. One of the people identified in the indictments as having interacted with Frazier matches the name of a store manager for a Walmart in the area of the House district.

Frazier turned himself in to the Richardson jail Friday and posted bond, said Teddy Yoshida, a spokesperson for the Richardson Police Department.

Responding to the indictment, Frazier’s campaign blamed Chabot, who Frazier defeated in the runoff by a wide margin. In a statement, the campaign said Chabot, who has run for office multiple times before, is “trying to overturn the results of that election by bringing up trumped complaints to law enforcement and testifying before a grand jury.”

“Frederick Frazier is looking forward to having the opportunity to defend himself in court, where we are confident jurors will see through Chabot’s lies in the same way that voters have five times before,” the statement said.

Frazier's lawyer, Robert Rogers, also expressed confidence in a statement that the charges "will not hold up in court."

John Thomas, Chabot’s consultant, issued a statement saying Frazier's "lying and deceit knows no limits."

"He committed crimes and refuses to fess up," Thomas said. "He is a disgrace to himself and to those who dawn a badge in law enforcement. Paul Chabot demands Frazier have one shred of decency and immediately drop out of the race as it’s crucial that both a Republican and candidate with integrity represent the people of the 61st district.”

Frazier easily won the Republican primary runoff last month for House District 61, an open seat in Collin County that leans Republican. A well-known advocate for law enforcement in Austin, Frazier had the backing of Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state House Speaker Dade Phelan. The Democratic nominee in the race is McKinney businesswoman Sheena King, who said in a statement that the charges would be a "major distraction" if Frazier is elected.

"Mr. Frazier’s indictment calls into question his adherence to Texas law and his ability to servethe people of Texas honestly and without misrepresentation," King said.

During the runoff, Chabot spoke out about the alleged theft of dozens of his campaign signs. In one incident, Chabot said a Walmart store manager told him someone claiming to work for city code compliance came in and told the store to take down Chabot’s signs because they were illegally placed. Chabot said he reported that to the police.

The Texas Rangers ultimately looked into his claims. Chabot later obtained a report from the Rangers through a public records request that said the agency investigated Frazier in February for “alleged criminal violations … of Impersonating a Public Servant and potentially related Theft.”

At the time, Frazier’s campaign consultant, Craig Murphy, said his candidate denied any wrongdoing and called Chabot’s claims “frivolous.”

Texas Scorecard and Steven Monacelli, a freelance journalist who extensively covered the campaign sign controversy for Rolling Stone, were among the first to report Friday that Frazier had been indicted.

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