Deputy’s selfies at Jan. 6 insurrection got her fired, suit says. Now she gets payout

Nearly three years after a former Texas deputy was fired for posting photos at the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol, she’s receiving a nearly $400,000 settlement from her former employer, according to officials.

Former Bexar County Lt. Roxanne Mathai sued the county and Sheriff Javier Salazar for violating her First and 14th amendment rights, according to court documents.

Mathai had been a county jailer for the last nine years, earning a lieutenant rank in 2020.

She was also a “passionate supporter” of former President Donald Trump and had “repeatedly made public statements in support of him and MAGA (Make America Great Again) on social media platforms such as Facebook,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said she was “wrongfully” fired months after attending the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C.

Despite settling the case, Salazar stands by her termination, according to KSAT.

“The termination in this case was done within policy and was upheld by an arbitrator. The decision to issue a settlement was made outside the BCSO. There was no wrongdoing on the part of the administration, and I stand by our actions,” the sheriff said in a statement to the outlet.

’Documenting history’

With permission from an assistant chief deputy, Mathai jetted off to the nation’s capital on Jan. 5, 2021 to join friends in support of Trump, according to the complaint.

She arrived at Ellipse Park donning a Trump flag as a cape around 7 a.m. to attend the “Save America Rally” where Trump infamously told supporters to “stop the steal” ahead of Congress’ certification of the 2024 election.

Mathai “eagerly” watched the former president speak before following the large crowds toward the Capitol building, according to court documents.

As she made her way with the crowd, she pulled out her phone “believing she was a witness to history and wanting to create a record for posterity” and began to snap photos, according to court documents.

Mathai stood on the street, sidewalk and lawn, never entering the building, until about 3 p.m., according to the lawsuit. She then walked back to her hotel, the lawsuit said.

“Mathai would never approve or condone such law-breaking. She was horrified at what she saw,” according to the lawsuit.

The lieutenant returned to San Antonio on January 8, the same day Salazar launched an internal investigation into her activity at the insurrection, according to documents.

Mathai investigated

Citing allegations such as “conduct unbecoming of an officer,” a failure to report criminal activity and an inappropriate use of social media, Mathai was questioned by an investigator on Jan 29, 2021.

County employees are required to report any criminal offense “which they have direct or indirect knowledge,” according to Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) documents.

Mathai said she saw people climbing walls and scaffolding, but added that she “did not observe any response from law enforcement,” according to a transcript of her internal investigation.

She told an internal investigator that she does “not possess a complete understanding of the law even in my own jurisdiction much less to know if these would be considered violations in Washington D.C.,” according to county records.

BCSO’s social media policy says that anything posted to social media can be used against the employee, which can lead to disciplinary action or termination, according to documents from the sheriff’s internal investigation.

Mathai was ultimately fired from her role on May 28, 2021, according to BCSO documents. She filed a grievance and her case went before an arbitrator in August 2021 — and her termination was ultimately upheld, according to arbitration documents.

“I absolutely think that this brought reproach and discredit, disrepute on this agency,” Salazar testified in August 2021, citing Mathai’s presence at the capitol on Jan. 6, according to the complaint. “And I think that her presence there brings that on. But allowing her to remain employed by us, I would be basically acquiescing and saying that that’s okay. And it’s not.”

In September 2021, Mathai was dishonorably discharged from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement for “criminal misconduct,” but she says she did not receive the certified mail notifying her, according to court documents. She missed the deadline to appeal, but petitioned the State Office of Administrative Hearings to change her standing in March 2022.

Criminal charges were never filed against Mathai, according to the lawsuit.

Her standing was changed to “general discharge,” according to the lawsuit.

Filing suit

Due to the “dishonorable discharge” status Mathai held for months, she said she was unable to find work, according to the lawsuit.

She filed suit in December 2022, citing violations of her First and 14th amendment rights.

The lawsuit says the county and Salazar retaliated against her “because she engaged in free speech regarding matters of public concern” and expressed her political views.

During depositions, however, Salazar held a different opinion on what happened on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I believe it — that the insurrection itself was a terrorist act, and she was there in support of it,” Salazar said during his deposition, according to KSAT.

Mathai also said her firing “deprived her of her civil rights and employment,” according to the lawsuit.

Nearly a year and a half later, she’s now getting a nearly $400,000 payout from her former employer.

“Commissioners Court on April 9 approved turning over the $100,000 deductible amount required under its policy to a private insurance carrier to take over the defense and resolution of the lawsuit and the insurer agreed to pay the remaining $400,000 settlement amount to Mathai to resolve the pending lawsuit,” a Bexar County spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email.

The county did not specify the reason for settling the lawsuit, but noted that Mathai said she never entered the Capitol building.

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