Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt says he’s running for Texas attorney general

Lee Merritt, a civil rights lawyer who has represented several North Texas families of Black people killed by police officers, said in a video posted to Twitter Saturday he is running for Texas attorney general. Merritt floated the idea during remarks at a Friday protest at the Collin County Courthouse in response to the in-custody death of Marvin David Scott III. The attorney is representing the Scott family, and told a reporter that he was considering running against current Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“I accidentally made an announcement yesterday that I plan to run for Texas attorney general,” Merritt said on the video. “I intend to run.” Besides the Scott case, Merritt has represented the families of Atatiana Jefferson, killed by a Fort Worth officer while standing in her home; Darius Tarver, shot dead by Denton police after wielding a frying pan and a knife; Jordan Edwards, killed by a Balch Springs officer who fired into a moving vehicle carrying teenagers leaving a party; and Botham Jean, killed in his apartment by an off-duty Dallas officer. He also represents the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed while jogging in rural Georgia. Three white men face murder charges in that case. Merritt has had a few public missteps, including representing a woman in 2018 whose claim of sexual assault by a state trooper were proved false after body camera footage showed no such incident occurred. Merritt apologized for bringing national attention to the fabrication.