Texas county pays $400K settlement in deputy Jan. 6 lawsuit

Nearly three years after a former Texas deputy was fired for posting photos at the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol, she’s receiving a nearly $400,000 settlement from her former employer, according to officials. Former Bexar County Lt. Roxanne Mathai sued the county and Sheriff Javier Salazar for violating her First and 14th amendment rights, according to court documents.

Mathai had been a county jailer for the last nine years, earning a lieutenant rank in 2020. She was also a “passionate supporter” of former President Donald Trump and had “repeatedly made public statements in support of him and MAGA (Make America Great Again) on social media platforms such as Facebook,” according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said she was “wrongfully” fired months after attending the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C.