Big Bend Reporter

06/24/2026

County Employee Accused of Felony Misuse of Police Records After Confronting Journalist, Then Libeling Him in Government “Burn Book”

In Fall 2023, a Jeff Davis County employee publicly confronted a journalist inside a local meat shop, using information she obtained through confidential law enforcement records. She then followed …

06/24/2026

🌿 “I’m going to buy a joint and smoke it in my backyard at 4:20. Come and take it.”

I don’t agree with everybody on everything, but I have to admit I kind of love the energy. 😆

The woman in that story is a Texas prosecutor who has become one of the more outspoken Republican voices criticizing Texas’ proposed THC crackdown. What I find even more interesting is that she isn’t just talking politics. She’s spent a lot of time calling attention to abandoned oil and gas wells, environmental hazards, and situations where property owners get stuck dealing with problems they didn’t create. That’s the kind of public-service work that often doesn’t get much attention.

Oddly enough, she’s also now connected to one of my own Jeff Davis County stories.

As many of you know, I’ve got ongoing litigation involving Jeff Davis County officials, so when it came time to deal with a speeding ticket out there, the case had to be handled outside the normal local process. The ticket itself was probably legitimate. It wasn’t some outrageous speed where defensive driving wouldn’t have been available anyway. I took the course, I’m paying the required costs, and the case will be dismissed without going on my driving record. Everybody wins.

The attorney handling the matter as prosecutor pro tem happened to be the same person from the THC-ban headlines. Small world.

And honestly, after following her work, I came away impressed. Whether you agree with her positions or not, she strikes me as someone who actually believes public officials should solve problems instead of creating them. That’s a quality that seems increasingly rare these days.

So here’s to people who are willing to challenge their own side, call out problems when they see them, and spend their time trying to make Texas a little better. I hope her career goes far and that she keeps doing the kind of work that got people’s attention in the first place. 🤠🌵🇨🇱

06/23/2026

One of the more amusing developments in this whole Jeff Davis County saga is that the guy who built an entire website dedicated to attacking me apparently found the comments section on a national legal article about the case and rushed over there too.

The article wasn’t written by me. It was written by Eugene Volokh, one of the most respected First Amendment scholars in America, and published by Reason. Volokh highlighted a federal magistrate judge’s recommendation allowing major constitutional claims in my lawsuit against Jeff Davis County officials to move forward.

So naturally, instead of debating the legal issues, the same anonymous critic shows up to tell everyone I’m a “fake journalist.”

The funny part is that the comments section didn’t exactly go the way he planned. Other readers pointed out that when nationally recognized First Amendment scholars, federal judges, the Texas Tribune, television stations, and multiple news organizations are all paying attention to the case, the “fake journalist” line starts sounding less like an argument and more like a coping mechanism.

Imagine spending years trying to convince people nobody takes someone seriously, then watching that person’s case get discussed in a publication read by lawyers, judges, law professors, and constitutional scholars across the country.

If nothing else, I appreciate the extra engagement. Apparently even my critics are helping drive traffic now.

06/23/2026

DPS Trooper Airlifted After Fatal Head-On Crash Near Alpine, Source Says

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was airlifted with serious injuries following a head-on collision near Alpine that left the driver of a pickup truck dead, according to information provi…

06/23/2026

Texas Reporter and Big Bend Reporter David Flash and Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson. Nixon is in between at the bottom of the frame.

06/23/2026

Lost Foster Puppy Prompts Search Effort in Marfa

A foster puppy that escaped Tuesday morning in Marfa is the subject of a community search effort, with local officials and animal rescue volunteers asking residents to keep an eye out for the small…

06/23/2026

A guy told me I should stop criticizing MAGA if I want more followers because I’m “alienating half the population.”

The funny part is that he admits I “keep popping up” in his feed. That’s not because I’m chasing him around the internet. It’s because he keeps engaging with content that apparently annoys him enough to stop and comment.

I’ve voted for Republicans and Democrats. I criticize ideas and behavior, not political jerseys. And after years in media, building audiences, publishing news, and reaching millions of people every month, I have a pretty good idea of what I’m doing.

If my goal was to avoid offending anyone, I’d post safe, forgettable content that nobody remembers five minutes later. Instead, I say what I think. People are free to agree, disagree, unfollow, or keep scrolling.

The algorithm keeps showing him my posts. My audience keeps growing. Sounds like the system is working exactly as intended. 🍿

06/23/2026

Flash alleges a "coordinated, multi-agency effort to develop counterstrategies against Flash's journalism …." Seldomly do such sensational claims have support to back them up, but Flash provides facts to push this over the line from speculative to plausible. After Flash began reporting on the individual Defendants, he was the target of seven separate criminal investigations, none of which resulted in any formal charges. County officials discussed playing copyright restricted music over public meetings to prevent Flash from monetizing his recordings; they also floated the idea of a policy by which journalists could be refused reporting access based on favorability of coverage.

Then—in an extrajudicial proceeding—Flash was banned from coming within 300 feet of any County building or employee. After that ban was struck down, Flash was arrested for the same conduct which had led to the ban—attempting to record and cover a County Commissioners Court meeting that was open to the public.

Throughout the conspiracy's duration, many of the parties alleged to have been involved made statements expressing their animus toward Flash and his journalism. Defendant Evans called him "crazy" and "not suitable for public settings." Defendant Dennison called him a "spoiled toddler" and speculated that he could be carrying a concealed weapon. Defendant Eisen described Flash's Big Bend Times as a "megaphone" and said that Flash "brought it on himself" through his journalism. Critically, Eisen also stated that the County's actions against Flash were "motivated by our coverage[,]" suggesting a collective response motivated by his First Amendment activity.

Flash also pled links between the individual Defendants. Defendants Ruiloba and Giesbrecht arrested Flash under Defendant Evans's directions and with Lopez present. Immediately prior to the arrest, Lopez had expressed disapproval toward Flash's photojournalism, telling Flash "it was interfering with his ability to listen to the meeting." Later, Defendants Evans and Lopez jointly provided body camera footage to and participated in an interview with the anonymous anti-Flash smear website.

https://reason.com/volokh/2026/06/22/independent-journalists-lawsuit-against-west-texas-county-can-go-forward-recommends-magistrate-judge/?comments=true

06/23/2026

Big Bend Ranch State Park

06/23/2026

Texas DPS Trooper Involved in Head-On Collision Near Alpine

A Texas Department of Public Safety vehicle and a pickup truck were involved in a serious head-on collision Tuesday near the intersection of U.S. Highway 67 and State Highway 118, an area local res…