Williamson County Judge Suspended After Sheriff's Office Threat

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct has suspended the Williamson county judge from judicial duties with pay following a threat he made to strip the sheriff's office of funding in a spat, according to a published report.

Judge Dan Gattis was previously slapped with a misdemeanor charge of official oppression after threatening a sheriff's deputy at a July 17 county commissioners meeting last month. He told the deputy he would "zero out" the law enforcement agency's budget if Sheriff Robert Chody continued making critical comments on social media about county machinations.

Now, as the Austin American-Statesman reported, Gattis has been suspended by the state panel as a result of the threat. The suspension with pay bars Gattis from judicial duties for the time being, the newspaper reported.

A county spokeswoman told the newspaper the suspension will not prevent Gattis from doing his job as county judge since he performs administrative duties for the county rather than judicial duties.

A hearing on the Class A misdemeanor charge of official oppression related to the threat is set for Sept. 14, the newspaper noted.

Related story: Williamson County Judge Charged After Twitter Clash With Sheriff

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Photo of Judge Dan A. Gattis via Williamson County Commissioners Court website