Nash-King files two criminal charges against resident | Local News

Nash-King said Thursday that both complaints have been forwarded by KPD to Bell County court prosecutors and are currently awaiting a response.

She said the harassment complaint concerns Fornino’s repeated attempts to discredit her military career, “which has nothing to do with my service as mayor,” Nash-King said.

Fornino alleged at a City Council meeting last month that Nash-King had falsified her military records. He claimed, among other things, that Nash-King never served in Kuwait during the first Gulf War.

He then contacted the Rotary International Club and a local VFW where he reiterated these claims. The Herald also reported on Nash-King’s military record and found no evidence of forgery.

The claim of a terrorist threat stems from a Sept. 17 incident in which Fornino brandished brass knuckles at a City Council meeting and told the mayor and city council, “These work outside, too.”

Nash-King said Fornino pointed the brass knuckles “directly at the council.”

“He spoke to me directly,” Nash-King said.

Brass knuckles became legal in Texas in 2019.

Last week, Killeen Police Chief Pete Lopez Jr. said Fornino would not be criminally investigated.

Fornino’s attorney, CJ Grisham, said Thursday that the complaints are nothing more than a distraction from the Killeen mayor and city council’s attempts to stifle free speech at meetings.

On this issue, Grisham filed a lawsuit against the city earlier this year on behalf of several residents who voiced their opinions and regularly attend council meetings, including Fornino.

If Nash-King’s allegations are taken up by law enforcement, Grisham said he would “add the allegation of malicious prosecution to our civil case.”

Nash-King is an elected official, Grisham said. “If she can’t stand the heat, get… out of the kitchen.”