When we first introduced you to Jennifer Combs, the facts already sounded hard to believe. The Texas mom said police arrested her after she used Facebook to collect complaints about discolored water in Trinidad.
Combs spent 23 hours in jail on a felony false alarm or report charge. A Henderson County grand jury later declined to indict her. She has since filed a federal lawsuit alleging political retaliation. You can read our original article on Jennifer Combs and the Trinidad, Texas water controversy.
Her arrest, however, did not end the controversy. Police later arrested a man who protested outside Trinidad City Hall. The judge who dismissed his charge says city officials fired her one week later.
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TEXAS MOM JAILED OVER DIRTY WATER FACEBOOK POST
Former Trinidad Municipal Judge Shellena Bivens joined me on The CyberGuy Report podcast at CyberGuy.com to explain why she dismissed the protest case and what happened after that decision. Bivens had served as a judge for 16 years. She described herself in a way that was direct and deeply personal.
"I've been a damn good judge," Bivens said. "I've tried to be human."
The case involved Winston Noles, a citizen journalist known online as Otto the Watchdog. He went to Trinidad after learning about Combs' arrest. Noles stood outside city hall with a sign that used an expletive to criticize "bad cops." Trinidad police arrested him and charged him with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. The department's case centered on a claim that his sign had offended the city's water clerk. Bivens said the evidence presented to her did not support that charge.
Bivens recalled an officer entering her courtroom and presenting two possible outcomes. Police could take Noles to jail or bring him before her for arraignment. Her response was clear. "You need to let him go," Bivens said. "I said that multiple times. You need to let him go."
Bivens dismissed the disorderly conduct charge. She said Noles had not committed a crime by displaying the sign. Local reporting also found that the former water clerk, Colby Reyes, said in writing that Noles had not offended her. Reyes later joined another former city employee in a wrongful termination lawsuit against Trinidad.
The lawsuit alleges that city officials fired Reyes because she "refused to lie" about her reaction to the protest. Those allegations have not been proven in court. During our interview, Combs described the situation this way. "She would not sign a statement that said she was offended," Combs said. Then came the part that still seems unbelievable. "The judge dropped it. They fired the judge," Combs said.
CARIBBEAN HOT SPOT GRIPPED BY WATER CRISIS, AND TOURISTS SCRAMBLE TO RESCHEDULE PLANS
The Trinidad City Council voted 3-1 to dismiss Bivens during a May 28 meeting. Her attorney argued that the council's action was unlawful. The city proceeded with the dismissal. Bivens told me she returned to work and discovered she could no longer enter her office. "They changed my code when I came in to work on Tuesday," she said. "My security code was changed."
She said city leaders ended her 16-year judicial career without giving her a valid reason. When I asked whether she expected a Facebook post about water to cause this much upheaval, she answered quickly. "Absolutely not. No," Bivens said. "This has been such a crazy journey."
Bivens has said publicly that she believes the city retaliated against her because she dismissed Noles' charge. Her attorneys have considered legal action. The city has not admitted that retaliation motivated its vote.
CyberGuy sent a request for comment to the mayor and city council through the city’s published contact information but did not hear back before our deadline.
During our interview, Bivens also described an alleged conversation with Charles Gregory, who served as Trinidad's police chief when police arrested Combs. According to Bivens, Gregory entered her office after Combs published her Facebook post. "I know who it is, and I'm, I'm F-ing getting her. I'm getting her," Bivens recalled him saying.
That is Bivens' account of the conversation. CyberGuy has not independently verified that Gregory made the statement. Gregory previously defended the department's decision to pursue Combs. He said her Facebook post created "fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community." He later resigned, with June 19 reported as his final day.
We reached out to the Trinidad Police Department for comment about Bivens' allegations and the department's handling of the arrests. We did not hear back before our deadline.
In our earlier CyberGuy report, an attorney representing Trinidad said the city could not discuss details because of active lawsuits. "The claims against the City of Trinidad will be answered where they belong, in a court of law," attorney Zachary Smith wrote.
The warrant process later faced scrutiny from another judge. Henderson County District Judge R. Scott McKee approved the warrant connected to Combs' arrest. He later sent Gregory a letter questioning information that two Trinidad officers had presented. McKee questioned the "accuracy, completeness, and reliability" of the officers' information. According to the letter, the officers failed to disclose citizen complaints and water-quality concerns. They also left out information that could explain the basis for Combs' Facebook post.
McKee ordered the two officers to appear before him in person when seeking future warrants. They had previously been allowed to submit requests electronically. That development is important. A judge can only evaluate probable cause using the information police provide. Missing context may change how a judge views the entire case.
Meanwhile, state investigators confirmed that Trinidad's water system had real problems. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released findings from two investigations on July 1. The first investigation found that Trinidad's system failed to meet state minimums involving total chlorine and iron. The report said the system had returned to compliance by April 22 after a boil-water notice.
A second investigation began on May 15. It resulted in four violations. Investigators documented problems with required chloramine-effectiveness sampling. They also found maintenance issues at the surface water treatment plant. In one sample, investigators recorded 20 color units. The EPA and TCEQ recommend a maximum of 15 color units. These findings do not confirm every medical claim posted online. However, they show that residents were raising concerns about a system with documented deficiencies.
Combs and Bivens also discussed a Trinidad family that said its 16-year-old daughter developed a serious skin reaction after showering. Medical records obtained by a local TV station described the condition as "most likely chemical burn/severe dermatitis from water she was exposed to." However, the report also stated that it remained unclear whether Trinidad's water-treatment process caused the reaction. The family was considering legal action at the time of the report.
Bivens told me she knew the family and had seen photographs of the teenager's injuries. "I've seen the pictures," Bivens said. "I know the family of the young girl that got burned." The family's allegation and the medical assessment deserve attention. Still, a final legal or regulatory determination about the cause has not been made.
On July 10, the Texas Rangers confirmed that they had opened an investigation involving Trinidad. "We can confirm the Texas Rangers are investigating," the agency told Dallas affiliate FOX 4. Because the investigation remains active, the Rangers did not disclose its scope.
Then, on July 16, all three members of Trinidad's city hall staff resigned. The departing officials were City Manager Cynthia Dosier, City Clerk Sandra Rojas and Municipal Judge Susan Carver. Carver had taken over the municipal judge position after Bivens' dismissal. Mayor Dennis Haws warned that the resignations would create operational problems while the city worked through the transition. The resignations do not prove wrongdoing. They do show how far this controversy has spread since Combs published her original Facebook post.
Combs says people associated with a small group in Trinidad mass-reported her Facebook post. The platform then removed it. During our interview, Bivens directed a message at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "Stop trampling on people's rights," Bivens said. "Stop trampling on free speech." We reached out to Meta for comment on Bivens' message, but did not hear back before our deadline.
Facebook's content-moderation system did not arrest Combs. Still, removing a post can erase evidence of what someone said and how other people responded. That is why screenshots matter. Save the original post and relevant comments when documenting a public concern. Keep copies of notices or messages you receive from officials.
You should also separate confirmed facts from reports that still need verification. Phrases such as "residents reported" or "we are asking the state to investigate" make that distinction clear. For more ways to control what social platforms collect and preserve your account security, see our five simple tech tips to take back control of social media.
Jennifer Combs says she used Facebook to gather water complaints from people who felt ignored. Police responded with a felony charge, yet a grand jury declined to indict her. Winston Noles then protested her treatment. Judge Shellena Bivens dismissed his disorderly conduct charge because she said the evidence did not support it. Trinidad's City Council fired her one week later. Since then, another judge has questioned the police warrant process. State investigators have documented water-system violations. The Texas Rangers are also investigating, although they have not revealed the scope. Public officials have every right to correct false information. They also have a duty to respect lawful criticism. Arresting people who question local government creates a chilling effect that can reach far beyond one small town. For more on how this controversy unfolded, check out the full conversation with Judge Bivens on The CyberGuy Report podcast at CyberGuy.com.
When a Facebook post about dirty water can lead to two arrests, a fired judge and a Texas Rangers investigation, how safe would you feel speaking up in your own community? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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