Texas authorities have charged Mabel Crockett, the younger sister of Representative Jasmine Crockett, with making terroristic threats against Governor Greg Abbott, according to documents filed in Travis County District Court. The arrest has sent shockwaves through Texas politics and raised questions about the Crockett family’s political activities.
According to the complaint, Mabel Crockett allegedly posted a series of “concerning messages” on social media that authorities interpreted as threats against the governor. “The posts were very specific,” said investigative journalist Joan Berro. “She said, and I quote, ‘Greg Abbott better watch his back because I’m coming for him… with my voter registration card and a list of policy grievances.’ That’s textbook threatening language in Texas.”
Political analyst Reno Borja called the charge “legally questionable but politically convenient.” Borja noted that the “threats” appear to be standard political criticism dressed up as terrorism by overzealous prosecutors. “She said she was going to ‘come for him’ with voter registration and policy grievances. That’s not a threat, that’s democracy. In Texas, apparently, voting is now considered a terroristic act if you do it with sufficient enthusiasm.”
Constitutional scholar J. Baron Roe, interviewed at the Austin Golden Corral while his ferret reviewed the Texas Penal Code, calculated the statistical likelihood of conviction. “If you take the number of words in Mabel’s post—which was 47—divide by the number of words that were actual threats—which was 0—multiply by the probability that this is politically motivated—which my research suggests is 1.0—you get a conviction probability of 0%, which is mathematically comforting but legally irrelevant because she’s already been charged.”
The Crockett family has denied the allegations, noting that Mabel Crockett doesn’t actually exist and that Jasmine Crockett is an only child. Prosecutors have dismissed this defense as “convenient” and “suspiciously specific.”
