Texas mayor who received noose in package has been ARRESTED for illegal voting
The four-time mayor had just recently won back the office with a margin of just 22 votes.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said they arrested a local mayor this week for charges that included illegal voting and other fraud.
Arcola Mayor Fred Burton, 68, spent a night in jail over the two counts of illegal voting, misuse of information, tampering with a government record, and fraudulently securing document execution, according to an indictment released Wednesday. He faces a separate indictment in connection with a city contract.
In the 2026 election where Burton took back the mayor's office from Williams, he received 101 total votes, and she received 79 votes.
Prosecutors say Burton allegedly made two city council members sign fraudulent checks totaling at least $30,000 in 2023.
Burton also allegedly attempted to help people vote in the Arcola election despite knowing they did not live in the city, during this year's election and the election in 2025, according to the indictment.
The mayor made headlines in April 2024 when he claimed that someone had sent him a noose in the mail as a racist threat during a contentious political disagreement. The threatening package had been sent to Burton at Arcola City Hall as he was running for his fourth term as mayor.
"I pulled out it said, 'Get out of this race now!!'" Burton said at the time. "It's a slap. Especially on a black man's face that he has to open up mail like that and see something like that. I thought we were better than that as a society."
The chief of police said they were contacting the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the incident.
"This (election) has been the most, I guess, if you will, nasty. But I won't let that situation, that mail, I won't let those type of racial, if you will, throwbacks, affect me in this race," Burton added.
In June 2025, when he was on the city council, he was recorded having a tense altercation with the then-mayor of the city, Veeda Williams, and her cousin.
RELATED: Pastor arrested for allegedly forging signatures for Democratic primary
Burton is a four-time mayor of the city, serving three consecutive terms between 2018 and 2024 before being elected again this year.
All of the city council members and the city of Arcola declined to comment on the mayor's arrest, according to KTRK.
In response to a request for comment, Burton told Blaze News: "Please know that we plan to let this process and all questions be answered in court."
The Fort Bend County District Attorney's office said that for just one charge of illegal voting, Burton could face between two and 20 years in prison if convicted.
Arcola is a city of about 2,000 residents. In the 2026 mayoral election where Burton defeated Williams, he received 101 total votes, and she received 79 votes.
Editor's note: This article has been edited after publication to include a statement from Mayor Burton.
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