The Texas Attorney General’s Office arrested nine people Thursday for allegedly voting illegally in last year’s Edinburg municipal election, bringing the total number of accused to 14.
Thursday marked the second time the AG’s office made sweeping arrests in connection with the hotly contested November 2017 race, when longtime Mayor Richard Garcia was ousted and a new majority, led by Mayor Richard Molina, was ushered in.
Four people allegedly used the address of an apartment complex owned by Molina, who won by more than 1,200 votes, to illegally cast votes. Two of them were arrested in May and June, while two more were arrested Thursday.
“To me, it’s very frustrating because my whole campaign has always been the target of criticism and ridicule,” the mayor said Thursday.
Both Molina and Salinas have decried the allegations against their campaigns, calling them false and political in nature. Molina went as far as creating a video in which he accused members of his opposition, including several members of the Palacios family, a long-time fixture in Edinburg politics, of voting illegally for years.
“I’ve said this from the very beginning when I made a videotape: This has been a one-sided investigation, so far, and they’re (targeting) people that have either helped me with my election or that I have hired to help me with the election,” Molina said.
He stressed that voters who were accused of voting illegally bear the responsibility for their actions.
