A newly surfaced recording reveals that Jeff Davis County Justice of the Peace Mary Ann Luedecke admitted she directed her staff to generate a warrant against journalist David Flash—based on conduct that never occurred. The revelation comes as the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct continues its investigation into Luedecke’s prior issuance of a false warrant.
The January 9, 2025 interview, conducted by Texas Office of the Attorney General prosecutors Geoff Barr and Ian Martin, captures Luedecke describing how she instructed her clerk to figure out how to file contempt charges against Flash. That direction resulted in a Class C misdemeanor being entered in the court system, the generation of a warrant document, and a collections notice—despite Flash never appearing before her in court.
“I told Barbara Dee, if we do contempt, find out where to put it,” Luedecke said. “She said, ‘This is the warrant that would result in contempt charges.’ I said, ‘Okay.’”
But video footage of the alleged incident—the one Luedecke used to justify exploring a contempt charge—shows that the conduct she described never happened. The footage, which was reviewed by Flash’s legal team, clearly contradicts her account of disorderly or disruptive behavior that would justify contempt proceedings.
“She made it up,” Flash said. “And now she’s on tape trying to sell that false narrative to state prosecutors.”
Despite knowing the video disproved her version of events, Luedecke repeated the false claim during the recorded interview with Barr and Martin, further compounding the misconduct already under investigation.
Flash’s representative had contacted the court previously to clarify what was occurring, documenting the timeline and preserving evidence. “This was never about courtroom disruption,” Flash said. “It was about retaliation. They tried to criminalize journalism, and they got caught.”
The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct is actively investigating the matter based on the original false warrant. This recording and the contradictory video evidence are now part of the growing body of material under review.
