Local official angered by coverage threatens Texas newspaper on social media

A local Texas councilman shared a social media image of a handgun atop the front page of The Daily News of Galveston County on Sept. 15, 2024, one of a series of what the newspaper’s editor said were attacks over its critical coverage.

The La Marque council member, Joseph Lowry, has lashed out at the paper and one of its reporters in numerous other posts on the Lowry News Network Facebook page, according to Daily News Editor Michael A. Smith and the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s review of the page.

Lowry, described by Smith as a “right-wing political operative,” also posts frequently about local politics, often accusing officials of corruption or other misdeeds.

The Sept. 15 post showed a photo of the Sept. 14-15 weekend edition of The Daily News with a handgun sitting on top of the paper. That issue’s lead story, entitled “Councilman’s claims might be unethical, expert says,” detailed Lowry’s alleged harassment of another council member and the steps taken to protect her.

The post’s location was tagged as the “Galveston County Daily News.”

Smith said he believed that Lowry made the post because of the scrutiny the newspaper had placed him under. “We have been reporting on his antics for several years,” he added.

Smith told the Tracker that Lowry had also made “a lot of veiled threats” against Scott McLendon, the reporter who wrote the story.

According to Smith, one came in a spoken quote for an article reporting that Lowry owes more than $40,000 in back taxes, in which he said, before hanging up, “I don’t owe anybody any money. But good job. You’re a piece of shit. You’re a fucking maggot. And you’ll get what’s coming to you.”

In addition, Lowry had said he’d been parked outside McLendon’s house and had mentioned the reporter’s children in a post. However, Smith added, “We never saw him around here and Scott never saw him around his house.”

Lowry also posted photos of Smith and the reporter on his Facebook page, using derogatory terms, labeling them “fake news” and tagging the paper’s office location. Smith said that, in addition, Lowry emailed the paper a photo of himself sitting in a car holding what appears to be a semiautomatic pistol.

Smith added, “Most recently he’s been posting items suggesting the newspaper would go out of business if not for money from public notices” and has been lobbying city leaders across the county to stop putting notices in the paper.

For example, on Sept. 20 Lowry wrote: “We have got to pass legislation to take millions (annually) in tax dollars away from these fake news outlets like Galveston Daily fake news. Our tax dollars should not go to writing hit pieces on citizens or political opponents of corrupt elected officials.”

Smith said the paper had contacted the police, but they said “there was nothing criminal they could act on.”

As a precaution, the paper gave its reception desk Lowry’s photo and instructed them not to let him into the building. In addition, “We circulated his photo among the employees and told them to report to a member of the leadership team if they saw him lurking around.”

In response to an emailed request for comment, Lowry denied threatening the outlet or any of its reporters. “Someone misinformed you,” replied Lowry. “I did not know where anybody at the Galveston daily news lives nor do I care. Nor have I ever threatened a reporter. Fake news.”

Smith said that the outlet hasn’t changed the way it’s covered the story, although another reporter is now covering the beat. “We’ve continued to report the parts of his circus that seem to be news.”

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect additional information about the paper’s coverage of Lowry.