Assistant Texas attorney general loses job after report surfaces racist tweets
A Texas assistant attorney general sent dozens of tweets over the past several months threatening violence against progressives, spouting racist and transphobic rhetoric, casting doubt over the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic and sharing QAnon conspiracy theories. On Thursday, he lost his job with the state agency after national media reported on his social media activities.
Nick Moutos, whose racist tweets were reported Thursday morning by Media Matters, threatened Black Lives Matter protesters and has regularly referred to the organizers as “terrorists.” He called Islam a “virus” and trans people an “abomination.”
“As of today, this individual no longer works for the Office of the Attorney General,” Kayleigh Date, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, told The Texas Tribune.
Moutos acknowledged that he lost his job in a Thursday evening tweet, which also referenced coverage by Salon and Men’s Health of his comments downplaying the national coronavirus death totals.
“Speaking out against the #ChinaVirus #Plandemic & #Democrats using it to steal #Election2020 makes people angry. Stories slamming me & others in #Salon #MensHealth #AlterNet were enough to cost me my job,” he tweeted. “Plandemic” refers to the conspiracy theory that the coronavirus was planned by the Chinese government and engineered in a lab in Wuhan, which has been proven false.
Moutos has worked for Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office since 2017 in the criminal prosecution division and recently ran and lost in a Republican primary for the District 35 U.S. House seat. As of July 1, Moutos was earning an annual salary of $100,652.
Moutos could not be reached for comment.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/03/nick-moutos-texas-attorney-general/
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