Ex-mayor of Texas acquitted in conspiracy to commit election fraud

EDINBURG (Texas) — After an eight-day trial, a former South Texas mayor was acquitted of fraud organized in election and illegal voting.

A Hidalgo County jury deliberated for six hours on Thursday, before finding Richard Molina, former Edinburg mayor, not guilty of organized fraud and 11 charges of illegal voting. After hearing the verdict, Molina sank in his lawyer’s arms.

Edinburg is a city of about 90,000 people and is the headquarters for U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations in the Rio Grande Valley.

The charges against Molina are a prominent arrest of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Republican, Paxton has made it a priority to prosecute illegal voting cases and has praised the harsh sentences handed out in cases of election fraud. A federal judge ruled that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud after the state incorrectly asked thousands of Texas citizens about their citizenship.

A message sent to Paxton asking for comment was not returned.

Molina defeated the long-serving mayor of the city by approximately 1 ,200 vote in 2017.. Molina was charged with trying to tip the balances. He had been arrested in April 2019, and charged.

Molina stated in his defense that he thought his actions were legal according to the opinions of the attorney general.

Molina is still being tried on the same charges against Dalia Molina and Julio Carranza. While both have pleaded not guilty to the charges, Carranza gave evidence for his protection during the trial of his ex-partner.