In most small towns, a Facebook meme gets you an eye roll, maybe an unfriending, but not a criminal charge. Hood County, Texas, is proving to be an exception.
On November 5, Navy veteran and local media figure Kolton Krottinger was arrested and charged with a third-degree felony after posting what he thought was a harmless piece of satire.
The meme poked fun at two familiar names in Granbury politics, activist Tina Brown and former school board candidate Monica Brown, by pretending that Tina supported the candidate she very much does not.
To the regulars of the Facebook group “Hood County Sheepdogs,” it was just another inside joke.
According to Sarah Fields, a Republican precinct chair who knows both women, “it was an obviously satirical meme to the local audience, who knew that Tina ‘Karen’ Brown has no love for the former Granbury ISD school board candidate, Monica Brown.”
But Tina Brown didn’t see the humor. She told the sheriff’s office the meme made it look like she endorsed a candidate she openly opposed. Within a week, Krottinger found himself charged under
Texas Penal Code 33.07, a law meant to stop people from using someone’s identity online to “harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten.”
For Krottinger, the arrest was a shock. “I never imagined that exercising my right to free speech…something I swore to defend could land me in handcuffs,” he wrote on X.
His attorney, C.J. Grisham, did not mince words either. “It’s crazy that you can share a meme in the United States of America, where the First Amendment reigns supreme in our judicial system, and be thrown in jail and charged with a felony that could potentially ruin your entire life,” he said.
He added, “Yeah, it was to poke fun at the two people who can’t stand each other… That’s the joke of it.”
Grisham believes the case is politically motivated and warns it could have a chilling effect on local speech, a concern that seems less theoretical by the day.
Sheriff Roger Deeds has stood firmly by the decision to investigate.
In a public statement, he encouraged residents to report social media content they consider harmful, saying his department “will investigate to the fullest extent of the law.”
He acknowledged that “much of what is posted online is protected by the 1st Amendment,” but added that certain actions “may sometimes constitute a criminal offense.”
Krottinger, who runs the local news page “Hood County Breaking News” and operates a ranch that supports veterans and first responders, says the experience has been humbling.
After the court initially restricted his access to social media, a judge later restored it. “It feels good…really good to finally be able to post again,” he wrote afterward.
