The MAGA lawmaker accused of cheating on his wife with a member of his staff—who later died by suicide—has been brutally dragged by his “Gun Nut” opponent.
Rep. Tony Gonzales posted a bizarre defense to his alleged infidelity on Thursday, claiming that he was being “blackmailed” just in time to thwart his electoral chances in the GOP primary, for which early voting began this week.
The post instantly backfired. The Trump-endorsed candidate from San Antonio, Texas, was significantly “ratioed” in his replies, with the largest margin stemming from his 30-year-old opponent, YouTuber Brandon Herrera.
Herrera received over 8,000 likes within an hour and a half on a reply to Gonzales’ X post that read, “You are guilty and should resign.”
In that same period, Gonzales, a father of six, received fewer than 100 likes on the post in which he desperately tried to defend himself.
Herrera was not the only one slamming Gonzales’ twisted defense.
Another response that received more likes than Gonzales came from the Texas-based radio host Kenny Webster.
“Tony slept with one of his employees,” Webster wrote. “She didn’t sleep with him because she thought he was handsome—she slept with him because he’s her boss. Then she killed herself. Now her husband is suing Tony so Tony claims he’s being blackmailed. Tony wants you to believe he’s a victim.”
Merissa Hansen, an independent journalist from Houston, spoke similarly.
“It’s disgusting for a MARRIED MAN WITH KIDS who is in a position of power to involve himself in a relationship with a subordinate,” she responded to Gonzales on X. “You knew what you were doing, Tony.”
The supposed affair, which Gonzales denies, blew up this week after a San Antonio Express-News report made bombshell new revelations about what led up to the September suicide of Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old mother who self-immolated outside her Texas home. She was the regional district director for Gonzales, 45, at the time of their alleged affair.
Most notably, the Express-News quoted a former Gonzales staffer as saying the lawmaker did “nothing” after he was made aware of the declining mental state of Santos-Aviles, who was allegedly iced out by Gonzales after she revealed their relationship to others on staff. She was not employed by the congressman at the time of her death.
A former staffer also provided the Express-News with a screenshot of a text from Santos-Aviles that read, “I had [an] affair with our boss and I’m fine.” That blew up the lawmaker’s months-long defense that reports of an affair were simply untrue. His office did not respond to a request for comment.
Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles, has also called out Gonzales for the “affair.”
Adrian told the Express-News that he learned of their relationship after returning home to find his wife texting the congressman. He also responded to Gonzales’ post on X.
“We have never blackmailed anyone,” he wrote. “What we’ve seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect your image. You’re a classic case of a two-faced politician who says whatever is convenient to save face. We chose to hold back the full police report and body cam footage for one reason only: it shows my wife suffering severe burns in horrific detail.”
He continued, “I will not allow that graphic material to become accessible to our 8-year-old son in the future when he is old enough to search for or come across it. Nothing in that police report protects you; that decision is about protecting our child’s well-being, not concealing anything improper. Your actions have been disgraceful, and you continue to mislead your constituents with falsehoods.
“You may avoid responsibility here on earth, but one day you will answer to a higher authority. Today, though, you still answer to the people you represent—people who deserve the truth, not more deception.”
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