Texas prosecutors have dropped charges against a prominent conservative activist in Houston related to allegations he was part of what authorities have called a baseless voter fraud conspiracy theory.

Woodfill’s endorsement by Paxton was decried by some Republicans because of his close ties to Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler, who has been accused multiple times of sexual abuse.

Woodfill’s former client fears that politics played a role in the case, which she said was mishandled and abruptly closed by the Harris County DA’s office.

Woodfill has been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton despite his connection to Paul Pressler, a prominent religious figure accused of rape.

The suit prompted a major newspaper investigation into Southern Baptist sexual abuse and seven other men to come forward with allegations against Paul Pressler, an influential conservative activist and former Texas judge.

If elected next year, Woodfill also plans to run for House speaker. His campaign accuses his 2024 opponent, conservative state Rep. Lacey Hull, of conspiring with incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan to work against conservatives.

Under oath, outspoken anti-gay activist Jared Woodfill said he was told in 2004 that Paul Pressler had sexually abused a minor. But Woodfill did not cut ties with the Southern Baptist leader — and said he had no knowledge of Pressler’s alleged behavior when another young man came forward about alleged sexual misconduct in 2016.

Many voted in this years Texas election. Both sides agree that some Texas voters were disenfranchised, though they disagree over why. It took several minutes of convincing before the poll workers would let her submit a provisional ballot. Everyone needs to go to the polls, go vote — vote, vote, vote, vote, vote — and then I go, and I get treated like that.”The murky world of provisional ballotsProvisional ballots like the one Booth was forced to cast hover in an electoral netherworld. When a provisional vote is accepted, it usually signals that the problem was not the voter’s fault.

Victoria Houptman-Bryan joins demonstrators as they stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)HOUSTON – A panel of federal appeals court judges has rejected an eleventh hour Republican effort to bar Election Day drive-thru voting in Houston. The court hadn't been asked to invalidate votes already cast at drive-thru sites in the Houston area. “Hopefully it's all over now.”Attorney Jared Woodfill, a former Harris County GOP Chairman representing those opposed to drive-thru voting centers, noted that county Clerk Chris Hollins has shut down all but one of the county's 10 drive-thru locations for Election Day. "We have stopped the illegal voting on Election Day because Mr. Hollins has shut down drive-thru voting in all locations but one,” Woodfill said.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)HOUSTON – A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic. Another 20,000 or more voters had been expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday, Hollins said earlier Monday. “I cannot in good faith encourage voters to cast their votes in tents if that puts their votes at risk,” he said. Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading the coronavirus. More than 40% of Harris County residents are Latino, and about one in five residents are Black.

The entrance to the 2016 Republican Party of Texas convention in Dallas. The 2020 in-person party convention in Houston was canceled due to the coronavirus, spurring legal battles. Bob Daemmrich for The Texas TribuneA Houston federal judge ruled Friday that the Republican Party of Texas may proceed with its in-person convention, according to lawyers involved in the litigation, a striking last-minute development as party officials have struggled to get a virtual gathering underway. The partys virtual convention was set to begin Thursday, though technical difficulties prompted hourslong delays and, eventually, the postponement of the event until Saturday. Before Friday's ruling, Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey said the party was still working toward resuming the virtual convention Saturday.

An employee boards up a bar on Sixth Street in Austin after Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars in Texas for the second time in three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas TribuneHOUSTON Hoping to block Gov. Greg Abbotts Friday decision ordering Texas bars to close due to a rise in coronavirus cases, more than 30 bar owners on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging Abbotts emergency order. Hes sentencing bar owners to bankruptcy.Announcing the shutdown on Friday, Abbott said the actions of his executive order "are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health."