Jalen McKee-Rodriguez poses for a photo. Credit: Jade Esteban Estrada

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez has apologized for an online dustup he got into with a woman who referred to him as a “monkey” in a post voicing frustration with his office.

In the exchange, which took place last week, the Black councilman publicly shamed Trisha Thatcher-Garza on Facebook and called her “racist” for lobbing the insult in an earlier post, where she complained that the District 2 office hadn’t responded to an urgent request. McKee-Rodriguez also took issue with her claim that his office snubbed her request.

McKee-Rodriguez, who maintains an active social media presence, walked back the dispute in a Tuesday Instagram post, saying Thatcher-Garza and her family received threats after the online exchange. He added that he and the woman have since had a conversation during which she apologized for the insult.

“Today, I publicly accept Trisha’s apology, and I also apologize for my role in escalating a situation that caused further harm,” the councilman said.

He added: “We have to stop responding to harm by creating more harm. You can disagree with me, you can criticize me, you can vote against me. But none of us should resort to hatred, dehumanization or threats when we disagree with one another.”

The back-and-forth began after Thatcher-Garza accused McKee-Rodriguez’s office of failing to follow up about a complaint she lodged in 2024 about an elderly Black woman allegedly being ripped off.

“I wrote him regarding a 94-year-old woman on Cactus being exploited and robbed by a family who receives $$$ to revitalize the East Side, and this monkey mfkr never responded, nor did anyone from District 2,” Thatcher-Garza wrote in her comment.

McKee-Rodriguez responded, maintaining that his office referred Thatcher-Garza to Rio Grande Legal Aid for assistance. He also called her out for her use of the term “monkey” — something he said he regrets after having a conversation with her.

“Looking back, I don’t believe it was a responsible use of my platform,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “I’ve since had a conversation with Trisha. I believe her apology is sincere. I believe that it was not her intent. And, I believe she’s reflected on the impact of her words. Unfortunately, she and her family have now received threats and hateful messages of their own. I want to be very clear that that is not okay. I do not condone it, and no one deserves to be threatened.”

It’s not the first time that McKee-Rodriguez’s passion for social media has landed him on shaky ground recently.

In April, McKee-Rodriguez took to Instagram to announce that a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center planned for San Antonio had been put “on pause” because it hadn’t received an environmental review.

However, media outlets fact-checked the claim and pointed out that the feds had put the brakes on some planned ICE centers but not necessarily the one planned in McKee-Rodriguez’s district.

The councilman later issued a follow-up reel explaining that he posted his original response after receiving information from a journalist. He added that Department of Homeland Security officials have largely kept local officials in the dark about their plans for the center.

“Every update that I get comes from a journalist asking me for a response to information they received, and they aren’t able to share their sources with me,” McKee-Rodriguez said in the follow-up reel.  

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...