VIDEO: Charges dismissed against Trinidad water protestors as city hall closes
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TRINIDAD, Texas - A grand jury has now declined to indict a woman arrested over a Facebook post about water concerns in the City of Trinidad.
This was a quick decision by a grand jury, as the woman is one of two arrests related to the water controversy that will not be moving forward.
Citizen journalist Winston Noles goes by the name Otto the Watchdog.
Last week, Noles' 80,000 YouTube subscribers had live access of his arrest for holding up a sign outside the Trinidad Police Department.
On Wednesday, FOX 4 shared an exclusive interview with Jennifer Combs, a citizen journalist arrested for a Facebook post, reading, "We have received reports that some citizens have been hospitalized due to bacteria in the water. This is a serious public health concern that deserves immediate attention."
FOX 4 has received images from residents of deeply discolored water.
City leaders admit there’s a water issue that’s been going on for years, but Chief of Police Charles Gregory says no one has been hospitalized and in a social media post of his own said Combs’ post "creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community."
The police department charged her with felony false alarm or report.
Combs, who says she was simply trying to investigate, maintains people have reported hospitalization, and the mayor says he’s at least seen social media posts claiming the same.
"So I came out to Trinidad because I found out that the Chief of Police had arrested a lady for making a Facebook post," said Noles.
He protested Combs’ arrest with a sign we cannot show on television, reading, "*expletive* bad cops."
"We are in a crisis with the First Amendment right now," said Noles. "I don’t like the bad part of law enforcement. I like good cops."
18-minutes into Noles’ livestream, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the sign.
"What they did to me was so clearly unconstitutional that any reasonable officer should’ve known better," said Noles.
On Thursday, however, Trinidad’s municipal judge said Noles’ case is being dismissed, and a Henderson County Grand Jury no-billed Combs’ case, meaning it’s dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Now, for unknown reasons, Trinidad’s City Hall is now closed until next Tuesday, while many continue to ask what exactly is going on with the water?
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirms to FOX 4 that an investigation into the city’s water is ongoing.