An attorney hired by Robert McIntosh filed a petition on Thursday on McIntosh’s behalf to depose three people in order to investigate what McIntosh believes are questionable circumstances behind his disqualification.
McIntosh was disqualified due to an expense report error and runner-up Bobby Brooks has been certified as next year’s Student Body President. McIntosh appealed the disqualification through TAMU Judicial Court, but the charge was upheld.
McIntosh has hired Gaines West, a partner with College Station law firm West, Webb, Albritton & Gentry. The petition calls for Election Commissioner Rachel Keathley, Student Government Association Adviser Amy Loyd and Student Senate Speaker of the 68th Session Aaron Mitchell to be deposed so that McIntosh may investigate the circumstances behind his disqualification without immediately pursuing a lawsuit.
“[McIntosh] desires to investigate whether the true reasons for such disqualification and establish that those reasons are based on the fact that he is a heterosexual, white, Christian male,” the petition, which can be read in its entirety below, states.
According to the press release, McIntosh believes he was disqualified for those reasons and as such his religious rights have been violated.
“The Election Commissioner, and another student, would know of these motivations to deprive Mr. McIntosh of the freedom exercise of his religion under both the Texas and Federal versions of the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act,” the press release read. “West further stated that his client wants to gather information to investigate claims of State and Federal Due Process violations and deprivations of [McIntosh’s] Civil Rights.”
According to the eight-page petition, McIntosh believes Loyd has made statements expressing “that she did not, and does not want [McIntosh] to be elected as Student Body President of Texas A&M University.”
McIntosh seeks to determine Keathley’s “motivation and involvement with the disqualification,” the petition says.
Lastly, McIntosh would like to depose Mitchell on the basis of “his first-hand knowledge of statements made by Texas A&M University faculty and staff associated with the SGA that such faculty and staff members specifically did not want [McIntosh] to be elected as Student Body President.”
A deposition would mean that Keathley, Loyd and Mitchell would be questioned under oath, and that their answers could potentially become evidence in any following lawsuits.
McIntosh declined to comment, as did Bobby Brooks. A&M spokeswoman Amy Smith similarly declined to comment. At time of publishing, Loyd, Mitchell and Keathley have not responded to The Battalion’s request for comment.
