Transparency Matters

Summary of facts regarding the Heit / “FWB” Matter

Background Information

Jamie Heit is a long-time Frisco Resident, mother and wife who has donated countless hours of time and energy to charitable and non-profit efforts.  While doing so, she created a Facebook page which is now titled “Frisco Residents Who Care” (“FRWC”).

FRWC started as a means to share information, communicate alternative options, and organize opposition, to an electrical substation from being constructed near a Frisco elementary school.  After that successful effort Mrs. Heit was encouraged to repurpose the Facebook page, which she did, and the page became the community page it is today with more than 20,000 followers and is used to obtain local community information such as where to get a pet groomed, to find a repair person, or how to support local charities. It is not intended to promote or advocate for any political party or candidates.

Last year a website and Facebook page called the Frisco Chronicles/Frisco Chronicles Whistleblower (the “FWB” and/or “FWB Group”) wrote numerous (at least eight (8)) lengthy blog posts either specifically about Mrs. Heit and the Frisco Residents Who Care Facebook page or reference Mrs. Heit in such blog posts, both on its website and its Facebook page.

Public information indicates that several other Facebook pages usurping the Frisco Residents Who Care name were created by FWB supporters in an effort to discredit and ridicule Mrs. Heit including:

• “Frisco Residents Who Argue” which information indicated was started by Mark Eisenman.
• “Frisco Residents Who Are Really, Really Good Looking” which information indicated was started by Mark Eisenman after Frisco Residents Who Argue was shut down by Meta.
• “Frisco Residents Who Actually Care” which information indicated was created by Mark Eisenman after Frisco Residents Who are Really, Really Good Looking was shut down by Meta.
• “Frisco Residents Who Care for the Uncensored” which information indicated was administered by Chris Fields, Dan Strickland, Shannon Greer, Sarah Rouse and Millie Rhodes.
• “Frisco Residents Who Care Freedom Chatter” which information indicates it’s currently administered by the Frisco Chronicles Whistleblower and Kelly Karthik the wife of current Frisco City Council candidate VJ Karthik.

Amongst other allegations, the FWB page and/or website also hosted comments which stated Mrs. Heit was a “groomer,” a racist, and fascist.  Additional comments stated that Mrs. Heit was “the biggest chunk of excrement in the City of Frisco”, “a sad pathetic piece of trash”, and “a left-winged, socialist, Trump derangement syndrome idiot”. Further harassment included a caricature of Mrs. Heit as “Lady Overend Stupidity” and as voodoo doll with pins in it.

The FWB Group has left those comments up to this day.

The Court Ruling

As a result of the actions of the FWB, Mrs. Heit believed she had been defamed and harassed. Accordingly, she filed a pre-suit discovery request, which is different than an actual lawsuit, to investigate in accordance with Texas law.

A District Court in Denton County held a full evidentiary hearing on the request for pre-suit investigation and information.  The FWB who was represented by Steve Noskin, a former FISD school board member, fought against the request for information and transparency.  The court ruled in Mrs. Heit’s favor and ordered information to be provided, including who investigated the information contained in the blog posts and Facebook posts, who wrote the blog post and Facebook post and who was involved in the FWB group.

 The FWB appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals ruled against the FWB Group and in Mrs. Heit’s favor.

The Court Order required the respondent to “identify, and designate, and permit the oral deposition of the person or persons with the most knowledge pf the following…” and identified numerous subject matters on which testimony and information was to be provided and ordered a deposition.  A copy of the Order can be reviewed here:  Rule 202

Public Records Indicate the FWB Legal Representative Is A Violent Criminal Who Committed Perjury

A man named Hal Craig Douglass, an Uber driver, appeared for deposition as the legal representative of the FWB.

Public records indicate Mr. Douglass has been known by various names, including but not limited to “Hal Craig” which is one of the names he uses on Facebook, “Hal Douglass,” and “Craig Douglass.”  According to his deposition testimony, he also uses at least one woman’s name, Sybil Watkins-Douglass, when posting on sites such as Reddit and Nextdoor.  These names of various compositions have been used for PIR requests with the City of Frisco.

In his deposition, which is publicly available via court reporter transcript, Mr. Douglas testified that although he has been arrested twice he was not charged with a crime. However public records indicate he has been arrested for and charged with violent crimes. Some of those records can be reviewed here: Hal Craig

Arrest Records and court records (all of which are publicly available and some of which are attached) state Mr. Douglass was arrested and charged with violent crimes including assault with family violence when, as his wife was putting a child in her car, Mr. Douglass “grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face into the car door. The Complainant fell to the ground. The Complainant got into the car and the Suspect attempted to grab her again, but the Complainant drove away. The Complainant suffered a gash on her nose, a swollen bloody nose, and knot on her forehead and scratches on her face.”

Public records also indicate Mr. Douglass was later charged with more assault and family violence including an event in which the “Evidence substantiates guilt” for, and he pled “Guilty/Nolo Contendere” to get a reduced sentence for hitting his wife in the face “with a closed fist breaking her glasses and causing her face to bleed.”

Mr. Douglass then testified that he is the only person responsible for the FWB blog posts and Facebook posts. But, when asked about numerous FWB posts stating the authors are a married couple and that used plural terminology like “we,” “us” and “our” which does not match his personal background, Mr. Douglass testified that those references were him using “a persona.”  FWB posts making statements such as, “I am a middle-of-the-road conservative, and my wife is a democrat, and we are a beautiful house divided. I write the articles, and my wife reads every one of them before we publish and tells me what to change. We have lived in Frisco 15 – 20 years in the same home” do not match Mr. Douglass personal life or background and he testified again that he was “using a persona.” Likewise, FWB posts statements that the FWB lives in Senate District 30 and that the FWB page administrator is from Johannesburg does not match Mr. Douglass’s background. Mr. Douglass testified that certain types of information stated in the FWB posts are not accurate as part of his “persona” but that people reading the blog posts should believe the other statements made in the blog posts anyway.

Mr. Douglass was also not able to state with any specificity how blog posts and Facebook posts were researched, created, edited or published. Regarding a high-profile matter that became known as the “Tammy Tapes” regarding a former Frisco City Council member, Mr. Douglass testified he could not recall who provided those audio recordings (but also testified that the other person in the tapes was Sangita Datta) and further testified that the could not recall what software was used to edit the audio recordings. Furthermore, Mr. Douglass was unable to state how he gained access to certain information and materials from the FRWC Facebook page and testified that he was only a member of FRWC for one day.

Supporters of the FWB

The following people attended the evidentiary Court hearing in support of the FWB Group:

• Shannon Greer, a politically active non-resident of Frisco and resident of Hackberry.
• Vijay Karthik, a current Frisco City Council candidate.
• Kelly Karthik, Vijay Karthik’s wife and administrator of the Frisco Residents Who Care – Freedom Chatter Facebook page who raised money selling FWB t-shirts and supported a FWB Go Fund effort to raise money for the FWB and Steve Noskin.
• Patrick Wamhoff, husband of current Frisco School Board candidate Misty Wamhoff.
• Jackie Wakin, a person active in local politics.

When Mr. Douglass was asked if he and his friends Patrick Wamhoff and Mark Eisennman (who Mr. Douglass testified are friends of his and are often seen in Facebook photographs together) thought it was ok to target Mrs. Heit and for her to be called a “groomer” and a racist and fascist, attorney Ben Noskin (Steve Noskin’s son) would not allow Mr. Douglass to answer that question.

Mr. Douglass testified that Kelly Karthik and Millie Rhoades were added as administrators to the Frisco Residents Who Care – Freedom Chatter Facebook group and that Kelly Karthik helped with selling t-shirts and raising money for the FWB Group.

Mr. Douglass also testified that Frisco City Council member Brian Livingston had provided information to the FWB and that former City Council Member Dan Stricklin (who served less than one year on Frisco City Council and has a criminal history that required Mr. Stricklin to attend a Court-ordered “Batterer’s Intervention Program”) provided information to the FWB.  Dan Stricklin

After the deposition, Mr. Douglass and Steve Noskin were given the courtesy of the opportunity to designate another witness as the legal representative of the FWB Group. They declined to do so.

Following the deposition, subpoenas were issued to others, including but not limited to City Council member Brian Livingston and campaign manager Chris Fields.

Chris Fields is a campaign manager and politically active person in Frisco. He testified that City Council member Brian Livingston is his best friend and that he is friends with Shannon Greer. Mr. Fields testified that it is his understanding that the FWB Group is made up of multiple people and that he believes Mr. Douglass is a fall guy for the FWB. He also testified that Shannon Greer bragged about being the Frisco Chronicles Whistleblower. There are also a large number of Facebook exchanges between Shannon Greer and Mr. Douglass showing they are friends and advocate for the same political candidates, and that they do so with Patrick Wamhoff, Vijay Karthik and Kelly Karthik.

City Council member Brian Livingston testified in Court that Shannon Greer told him that Mr. Douglass was a fall guy for the FWB Group. Mr. Livingston also testified that he discussed topics and information with Shannon Greer that then appeared in FWB blog posts.

During the discovery process, information was received that Brian Livingston also told a Frisco resident the FWB Group had decided that the FWB would put up Mr. Douglass as a fall guy, and if that did not work, they would identify Shannon Greer. That information also indicated Mr. Livingston said that attorney “[Steve] Noskin was in on it from day one” and that Dan Stricklin was involved in setting up the FWB Group, and that Jackie Wakin, Sarah Rouse and others were also involved in the FWB Group. That information also showed that Mr. Livingston stated that he had been asked to confirm things, and was sent FWB articles in advance, and those things and advance articles were from Shannon Greer.

Other information during the discovery process, which is still being vetted, has indicated that the following may have been involved in the FWB Group:

• Dan Stricklin, a former City Council member.
• Shannon Greer, a politically active non-resident of Frisco and resident of Hackberry.
• Patrick Wamhoff, the husband of FISD School Board candidate Misty Wamhoff.
• Jackie Wakin, a politically active person in Frisco.
• Kelly Karthik, the wife of current City Council Candidate Vijay Karthik.
• Stephanie Elad, current Frisco ISD School Board Member.
• Jared Elad current Frisco City Council Member.
• Mark Eisenmann.
• Steve Noskin, former FISD School Board member.
• Star Patriots, a PAC run by Steve Noskin.
• Michelle Milholland, administrator of the Facebook page “Parents of Frisco ISD.”
• Sarah Rouse.

People who supported and contributed to the FWB Group Go Fund Me effort to take in money included but are not limited to:

• Hal Craig a/k/a Craig Douglas.
• Patrick Wamhoff
• Vijay Karthik
• Michelle Milholland
• Carrie De Moor, prior political candidate.
• Ram Mehta
• Muni Janagarajan, current political candidate.
• Angela Waits
• Casey Waits.

Risk Regarding “Information” on Social Media

It is prudent and advisable to perform due diligence on “anonymous” websites and “anonymous” online protesters and authors because allegations and statements made as fact may not be truthful, factual or reliable.  It is also advisable to be skeptical of, or to perform due diligence regarding, profiles of social media users and social media groups not known to the reader because there are a voluminous number of “fake” profiles and “fake” groups on social media.  Just because a social media poster or group claims to be transparent does not make it true.  To be transparent, a poster or group should tell you who they really are and what the real information on an issue is.  You deserve that type of transparency.