Supreme Court hears case of San Antonio woman who alleges arrest was politically motivated

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case involving a former Castle Hills councilwoman who alleges she was arrested in retaliation for speaking out against the San Antonio suburb’s city manager.

Slate Magazine last month described the widely watched case as being among the “most disturbing First Amendment cases of the decade so far.”

The legal fight stems from the arrest of retiree Sylvia Gonzalez, now 72, who won a Castle Hills City Council seat in a tightly contested 2019 race. During that contest, she authored a petition criticizing Castle Hills City Manager Ryan Rapelye, whom some residents accused of failing to repave city roads and ignoring citizen concerns, according to court filings.

In May 2019, during Gonzalez’s first council meeting, she introduced the 300-signature petition to Mayor Edward Trevino, triggering a debate about Rapelye’s performance.

The petition angered Trevino, a political ally of the city manager, according to Gonzalez’s accusations.

Following the meeting, Gonzalez gathered up papers into her briefcase, including some of the petitions. Although Gonzalez turned the petitions over to the mayor when he requested that she give them back before she left the council chamber, Trevino accused Gonzalez of intentionally trying to destroy government records, according to court filings.

Following the meeting, Castle Hills police embarked on a nearly two-month investigation into the matter, eventually charging Gonzalez with intentionally destroying, concealing, removing or impairing the verity, legibility, or availability of a government record — a misdemeanor.

Gonzalez was arrested and spent a day in jail for the charge until Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales caught wind of the situation and dropped the charges.

Gonzalez later filed a suit in which she alleges her arrest was political retaliation for her petition against city manager Rapelye.

In October 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Gonzalez’s case. Justices will decide what counts as “objective evidence” in situations where a person is arrested for a constitutionally protected activity.

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This article appears in Mar 20 – Apr 2, 2024.